Those in solitary confinement unit at Fayette prison face 'cruel and unusual punishment,' lawsuit says

Five people who have spent years in solitary confinement at a Fayette County state prison are suing the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and prison administrators, alleging that people housed there are subjected to cruel and unusual punishment.

The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, also includes claims for due process violations and discrimination. It seeks to end solitary confinement for men confined in the Security Threat Group Management Unit at the State Correctional Institution at Fayette in LaBelle.

“The (unit) isolates people with serious mental illnesses in permanent solitary confinement and creates mental illness in people who previously had no history of such,” the lawsuit said.

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections said she could not comment on pending litigation.

The plaintiffs, who include inmates serving life sentences for murder, previously filed a complaint on their own in federal court in Pittsburgh. They are now represented by the Abolitionist Law Center and Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project, which filed an amended complaint Tuesday.

Bret Grote, the legal director of the Abolitionist Law Center, said the plaintiffs are showing leadership and courage in filing the complaint — even while putting themselves at potential risk.

“Their lawsuit is another critical battle on the road to the ultimate abolition of solitary confinement in Pennsylvania,” he said.

The complaint alleges that confinement on the unit leads to severe psychological decompensation, trauma-induced anxiety, cognitive decline and abject hopelessness.

There are frequent suicide attempts, the complaint said.

The unit holds 30 to 50 men, the majority of them Black and Latino, according to the lawsuit. They are held in their cells for at least 22 hours a day, and the lights are always on.

They are denied adequate mental health care and cannot work or participate in educational or rehabilitative programming, the complaint said.

“Prolonged isolation under these extremely harsh conditions exacerbates the symptoms of the incarcerated individuals’ mental illness, which can result in individuals refusing to leave their cells; declining medical treatment; experiencing sleeplessness, hopelessness, hallucinations, and paranoia; consuming foreign objects; overdosing on pills; covering themselves with feces; eating their own feces; banging their heads against walls; cutting themselves; and attempting suicide,” the lawsuit said.

Because of the way the unit operates, the lawsuit said, the men are “trapped in a never-ending cycle of isolation and punishment.”

The lawsuit cites numerous studies that explain both the short-term and long-term consequences of solitary confinement, including physical symptoms and psychological harm.

The National Commission on Correctional Health Care, the complaint said, says that people with mental illness, juveniles and pregnant women should never be held in isolation.

According to the complaint, corrections officials never provide evidence to support why inmates are moved to the threat management unit, and the inmates are unable to challenge their placement there.

The DOC defines Security Threat Groups as groups of people who have been identified as a possible threat to security and operation of the facility, the lawsuit said.

The unit was created in 2013 at SCI Greene, before moving to SCI Forest and now SCI Fayette.

There are five phases in the unit program, and inmates can progress through them until they are removed from it by remaining “disciplinary-action free for a sufficient period,” which is not defined, the lawsuit said.

To be moved from one phase to another, the superintendent must give approval.

In practice, the lawsuit said, solitary confinement in the unit lasts for a minimum of one year.

Cells are 80 square feet, and there are no windows to the outside. Inmates must eat their meals inside, and if they are given recreation, it’s in a cage only slightly larger than their cell and they must be alone.

People in Phase 5 of the unit program may only have one non-contact visit a month, including a 45-minute video visit. In Phase 4, there are two visits.

“In reality,” the lawsuit said, “in-person visits … are rarely, if ever, permitted to occur.”

While in Phase 5, inmates have no access to telephones, reading materials, radios, TV or commissary food.

The lawsuit claims that mental health care for those on the unit is inadequate and typically consists of a staff person standing outside the cell and talking through the food slot or the crack between the side of the door and frame. The interactions are brief , the complaint said.

One of the plaintiffs is T. Montana Bell, 31. He is serving 25 to 50 years for third-degree murder for killing a woman in Philadelphia and separately shooting nine people outside a nightclub in 2011.

Bell also has been charged with aggravated assault twice while incarcerated in different state prisons and with aggravated harassment by a prisoner.

Bell spent two years in solitary confinement in the threat group management unit before being transferred to SCI Phoenix in May. While in the unit, he attempted suicide more than 10 times.

Bell was previously diagnosed with anxiety, antisocial personality disorder, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and is taking medications for them.

“Mr. Bell has been experiencing hallucinations and delusions that cause him to believe he can see, hear and receive messages from the dead, which cause him to be awake for two to three days at a time,” the lawsuit said.

Another plaintiff, Ronnie E. Johnson, 43, spent more than a year in the unit and about 16 years total in solitary confinement while in DOC custody.

Johnson is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder. He has been convicted of aggravated assault while in prison. Johnson was previously diagnosed with anxiety, depression, adjustment disorder, impulse control disorder and bipolar affective disorder. He also has a history of suicide attempts.

He has also been transferred and is now being held at SCI Houtzdale — still in solitary confinement.

Angel Maldonado, 36, has been in prison since 2008, serving a life sentence for first-degree murder. He spent the past 2½ years on the unit before being transferred to SCI Camp Hill in August. Maldonado, who previously had no mental health problems, has now been diagnosed with depression and anxiety.

He has spent about 12 years in solitary confinement. Maldonado’s time in the group threat unit caused auditory hallucinations, an inability to sleep and suicidal thoughts, the lawsuit said.

Another plaintiff, Kareem Mazyck, 41, was housed in the group threat unit on drug charges for two years and was released directly from there to the street in December. While in solitary confinement, he was diagnosed with anxiety, insomnia and adjustment disorder. He was prescribed medication.

He experiences paranoia, mood swings, difficulty sleeping and auditory hallucinations, the lawsuit said.

Xavier Pagan, 33, is now being held in general population at Fayette. He spent 3½ years in solitary confinement in the threat group management unit.

Prior to being placed in the unit, Pagan, who is serving at least 13 years for conspiracy to commit murder, was diagnosed with anxiety, PTSD, extreme depression and schizophrenia. He has attempted suicide.