California is taking action!- October 9th-channel 10 news

SACRAMENTO, CA - It appears the seven-week hunger strike by California prisoners has had an effect.
A joint legislative public safety committee met at the State Capitol Wednesday to grill state prison officials on their use of solitary confinement.
The hearing lasted nearly four hours and the highlights were plentiful.
But it was clear from the beginning that Committee Co-chair Assem. Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, was not happy with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
"I'm not a fan of solitary confinement," Ammiano said. "Spare us today, tell us the truth, even if it's not pleasant."
Steven Czifra, a former prisoner in a solitary housing unit (SHU) told the committee, "The SHU is a torture chamber. When I went in I was whole. When I left, I was a fractured man."
What is at issue, and what prompted the hunger strike and the hearing, is twofold.
First, the length of time an offender is put in solitary confinement.
Second, what lands them there in the first place.
Statewide, there are more than 4,000 prisoners in solitary confinement. They're sent there, for example, for committing more crimes in prison.
Being labeled as a gang member plays a part, too.
"Sixty percent of the population is there due to being a gang member," Assem. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, said to corrections officials. "And unless we see some data, they may have not committed any violence while they were in prison."
To the credit of the corrections department, that's one situation under change.
A prisoner now has a hearing before he is given a gang label. Officials are also reviewing those who were labeled as gang members prior to the new policy.
"We are reviewing inmates every week," said Michal Stainer, CDRC Director of the Division of Adult Institutions. "Some are being retained, some are being released."
A mock solitary cell was built near the west steps of the capitol building. The cells average about 75 to 85 square feet. Prisoners in SHU spend 20 to 22 hours every day in their cell.
"It causes agonizing psychic pain," said Margaret Winter with the ACLU's National Prison Project. "Over time, those who start out sane often develop mental illness."

According to CDRC, 23 prisoners have spent more than 25 years in solitary confinement.  Eighty-four have been in SHU more than 20 years; 106 - more than 15 years; 197 - more than 10 years; and 574 have spent more than five years in a solitary cell.

Health needs are being retained from those in solitary confinement

Herman Wallace passed away October 4th of this year. Herman had spent more than 41 years in solitary confinement.
According to the article "Decades in Solitary Confinement, Then Death in Freedom" published in The New York Times “Despite being known to be at risk for liver cancer, Mr. Wallace was denied regular monitoring of his health while in solitary confinement and the cancer was not detected until June 2013, when it was already advanced,” a statement from his lawyers said. “After the cancer was detected and oral chemotherapy was recommended, it was over a month before Mr. Wallace received his medication.”
Herman Wallace died of neglect in the prison system. One of the last things he said before he passed was "I am free. I am free."
Act now and stop the inhumane treatment of those placed in solitary confinement!

Suicides in Solitary Confinement

The United States Accountability Office conducted a study which they published in my of this year that found from 2008 through February this year, the number of prisoners in solitary confinement rose approximately 17 percent. The National Study of Jail Suicides conducted by The National Center on Institutions and Alternatives in 2010 found that 2 out of 3 prisoners who commit suicides are held in solitary confinement. In addition, they found that well over 400 inmates take their lives each year and most jail suicide victims were placed in isolation. That's Approximately 260 inmate per year taking their own lives in solitary confinement in the United States alone.

What are the affects of Solitary Confinement?

The New York Times July 2013: "Studies suggest that prolonged isolation can cause a wide range of psychological symptoms including insomnia, withdrawal, rage and aggression, depression, hallucinations and thoughts of suicide, even in prisoners who are mentally healthy to begin with."

BBC Jun 12th 2013: "Those inmates not affected by this "Isolation panic" may still slip into long-term depression and hopelessness. They may suffer lapses in memory... prisoners could even undergo a complete breakdown."