Caged in: The Devastating Harms of Solitary Confinement on Prisoners with Physical Disabilities
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CAGED IN:
THE DEVASTATING HARMS OF SOLITARY
CONFINEMENT ON PRISONERS WITH
PHYSICAL DISABILITIES
Jamelia N. Morgani
INTRODUCTION
Robert Dinkins is paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheel-
chair. Prison officials confiscated his wheelchair when he was placed in
solitary confinement, forcing him to crawl around on the ground and eat
[his] meals on the floor.'
Damon Wheeler is hard of hearing. He alleged that he was unable to
access his hearing aids for 86 days after prison officials confiscated them
prior to transferring him into the Special Housing Unit (SHU), a form of
solitary confinement.2
Abdul Malik Muhammad is blind. He alleged that he was kept in soli-
tary confinement for six weeks in part because prison officials did not know
where to place him.3 During those six weeks, he was denied access to
showers, fresh clothes, recreation, telephone calls, and visitation.4
J.M. is a deaf prisoner.5 He reported that he was held in solitary con-
finement for two weeks for failing to respond to an oral command spoken
by some corrections officials behind his back, which he could not hear.6
t A version of this article was previously published by the ACLU and is available
at its website located at https://www.aclu.org/report/caged-devastating-harms-solitary-
confinement-prisoners-physical-disabilities?redirect=CagedIn.
1. Dinkins v. Corr. Med. Servs., 743 F.3d 633, 634 (8th Cir. 2014); see also Com-
plaint for Declaratory & Injunctive Relief at ¶370, Disability Rights Fla. v. Jones, No.
4:16-cv-00047-WS-CAS (N.D. Fla. Jan. 26, 2016), http://www.floridajusticeinstitute
.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/drf-complaint.pdf [hereinafter Disability Rights Flor-
ida Complaint] (From October 2012 through December 2013, Mr. Jackson was not
permitted to have his wheelchair in his CM cell. He was forced to drag himself across
the dirty and abrasive cell floor, where it was very difficult to transfer to the bed, toilet,
and wash basin.).
2. Wheeler v. Butler, 209 F. App'x 14, 14-15 (2d Cir. 2006).
3. Complaint at 1 20, Muhammad v. Wicomico Cty. Dep't of Corr., No. 15-cv-
02679 (D. Md. Sept. 10, 2015) [hereinafter Wicomico Cty. Complaint].
4. Id. ¶ 2.
5. J.M. did not provide his full name. Survey Responses from Five Deaf Prisoners,
Maryland Correctional Institution-Jessup, to author 7 (Apr. 22, 2016) [hereinafter Sur-
vey Responses from Five Deaf Prisoners] (on file with author).
6. Id.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/bufhr24&div=6&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Caged in: The Devastating Harms of Solitary Confinement on Prisoners with Physical Disabilities
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