Watch Both Sides of the Bars: Exploring the Excessive Use of Solitary Confinement

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there are currently over 80,000 men and women in solitary confinement across the United States, most of whom are imprisoned for nonviolent crimes. This extreme form of punishment not only physically isolates an inmate, but can cause severe psychological damages.

On this episode of “Both Sides of the Bars,” host Ronald Day of the Fortune Society sits down with guests, Tyrell Muhammad and Victor Pate, to discuss the excessive use of solitary confinement and their efforts to change the guidelines for its use as punishment in New York State prisons.

Tyrell Muhammad is a formerly incarcerated person who now works for the Correctional Association’s Prison Visiting Project and Victor Pate is the chairman of the Second Chance Program at National Action Network’s New York City chapter.