went to see “mariposa and the saint” at MuCCC.
there are about 100,000 people in solitary confinement in american jails right now, 5,000 just in the state of ny. some of them are in for a few weeks, others for years, many for decades. there was a woman in the audience today whose son is in solitary confinement. he’s 18 years old. the kid in the special housing unit (SHU) next to him is 16, the same age as my daughter. a child. both are routinely harassed and brutalized by prison guards (bones and teeth have been broken) and any kind of resistance simply entails more time in solitary. much like mariposa, whose real life story is told in the play, in her own words, through the letters she wrote to activist, playwright and actress julia steele allen. she was given 4 additional years in solitary for throwing a glass of water at a male nurse. it’s enough to make one physically sick.
this horror must end. pls learn more here and urge your representatives to pass the humane alternatives to long-term (HALT) solitary confinement act. we can do this. more here.