Solitary Confinement

Public commenters at an Allegheny County Jail Oversight Board meeting on Thursday also voiced concerns about food quality and kitchen sanitation, short staffing, and the quality of medical care at the jail.

Some people worry a month-long lockdown at the Allegheny County Jail in March may have violated a 2021 referendum on solitary confinement.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: WESA reporter Kiley Koscinski explains how the Allegheny County Jail lockdown, due to a spike in COVID-19 cases, may be violating the voter referendum to end the practice of solitary confinement; amid freezing temperatures, Pittsburgh Mercy’s winter shelter saw full capacity to keep unhoused individuals safe from the weather; and a look at the struggle local manufacturers are facing to maintain a full staff.

A report about solitary confinement in the jail shows the facility was locked down with very limited recreation time for inmates during the month of January.

A referendum banning most uses of solitary confinement at the Allegheny County Jail took effect in December. Still, 294 inmates were isolated in the last month.

The president of the corrections officers' union said Thursday that staffing issues could prevent the end of the 23-and-1 lockdown at the Allegheny County Jail. The jail's warden strongly disagrees.

New data shows that people isolated in Allegheny County Jail's "segregated housing unit" usually stay for 11 days.

Local voters overwhelmingly approved two ballot initiatives to curb the use of solitary confinement at the Allegheny County Jail and to ban “no-knock warrants” in the city of Pittsburgh.

A ballot initiative would sharply limit the use of solitary confinement at Allegheny County Jail, but jail officials say they don't use the practice to punish those inside.

On today’s program: Pittsburgh residents will have a chance to vote on whether to ban “no-knock warrants” from police, and the use of solitary confinement in jails; a local Bloomfield bookstore says it was used as a “bargaining chip” for a developer in the Strip District; and ahead of summer, two camp organizers are making plans to hold in-person and hybrid programs.