Opening Brief of the Appeal in Case No 12-1450 (D.C. No. 1:07-cv-02471) of Feb 20, 2013
Oral Argument Silverstein v. Bureau of Prisons 12-1450, Sept. 24, 2013
Order and Judgment US Court of Appeal Tenth Circuit, May 22, 2014
Appelant’s Petition for Rehearing En Banc, July 7, 2014
Denial of Petition for Rehearing En Banc (with no explanation), July 18, 2014
This is a letter to the court on behalf of Appelant Thomas Silverstein, containing much literature and references to the torture of solitary confinement, and is endorsed/written by:
Amici include:
(1) psychiatrists and psychologists who have dedicated their careers to studying and documenting the mental health of inmates across various prison facilities, including supermax prisons and segregation units; and (2) mental health professional organizations whose efforts are directed toward improving the mental health of inmates, including those in solitary confinement.
The Association of Black Psychologists is focused on influencing and affecting social change and developing programs whereby Black psychologists can assist in solving problems of Black communities and other ethnic groups.
Coalition for an Ethical Psychology is a group of psychologists that actively opposes the involvement of health professionals in state-supported abuse with a national security rationale, including solitary confinement.
Mental Health America is a national advocacy organization dedicated to promoting mental health and achieving victory over mental illnesses and addictions through advocacy, education, research, and service.
The Mental Health Project (MHP) of the Urban Justice Center is dedicated to enforcing the rights of low-income New Yorkers with mental illness. MHP has long been involved in efforts to end solitary confinement in prisons.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the nation’s largest grassroots organization dedicated to ameliorating the lives of Americans affected by serious mental illnesses. NAMI has a long history of advocacy on criminal justice issues and is particularly concerned about the excessive use of prolonged solitary confinement on inmates with serious mental illnesses and the long-term negative effects of these practices on such individuals.
Physicians for Human Rights is an independent non-profit organization that uses medicine and science to stop mass atrocities and severe human rights violations against individuals.
Psychologists for Social Responsibility is an independent non-profit organization of psychologists and students that applies psychological knowledge to promote peace and social justice, including efforts to end solitary confinement.
Stanley L. Brodsky, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Alabama. He has worked as Chief of Psychology at the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, inspected solitary confinement facilities in 8 states as part of his clinical-forensic work, and conducts research and clinical assessment interviews for prisoners in a variety of isolation conditions.
Carl Clements, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Alabama. He has written extensively on correctional psychology for 40 years and has inspected dozens of prisons in the United States regarding the effects of overcrowding, offender classification procedures, and the mental health needs of prisoners.
Keith R. Curry, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist who has over 20 years of experience evaluating conditions of confinement and its effects on mentally ill inmates.
Carl Fulwiler, M.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He has extensive experience with the mental health effects of isolated confinement, having interviewed over 200 inmates in over a dozen Segregated Housing Units.
Rafael Art. Javier, Ph.D., is the Director of the Post-Graduate Professional Program and Professor of Psychology at St. John’s University. He has presented at conferences and published extensively on ethnical and cultural issues in psychoanalytic theories and practice, including on issues of violence and its impact on general cognitive and emotional functioning.
Allen Keller, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Medicine at New York University School of Medicine and the Director of the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors ofTorture. Dr. Keller’s scholarly work and research has included examining the impact of prison conditions and access to health care on prisoner health.
Terry A. Kupers, M.D., M.S.P., is Institute Professor at The Wright Institute. He provides expert testimony as well as consultation and staff training regarding the psychological effects of prison conditions, including isolated confinement in supermaximum security units, the quality of correctional mental health care, and the
effects of sexual abuse in correctional settings. Dr. Kupers has published extensively on prisoners’ mental health.
David Lovell, Ph.D., M.S.W., is Research Associate Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington. Professor Lovell and his colleagues conducted systematic interviews with inmates and staff in long-term solitary confinement units, along with reviews of prison records and clinical status.
Mona Lynch, Ph.D., is a Professor and Vice-Chair of the Department of Criminology, Law & Society at the University of California, Irvine. Trained as a social psychologist, her research focuses on criminal sentencing and punishment.
Katherine Porterfield, Ph.D., is a Clinical Instructor of Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine and a Staff Psychologist at Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture. Dr. Porterfield has worked as a clinical evaluator on several cases of young people held in detention at Guantanamo Bay and frequently consults with attorneys handling cases involving torture, trauma, and maltreatment.
Keramet Reiter, Ph.D., J.D., M.A., is an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Irvine in the Department of Criminology, Law & Society and at the School of Law. She is an expert in corrections, punishment, and criminal law, especially the history and uses of solitary confinement.
Peter Scharff Smith, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Fellow at the Danish Institute for Human Rights in Copenhagen. During the past 10 years, his research has focused on prisons and human rights, specifically the use and effects of solitary confinement in prisons internationally and in Denmark.
Hans Toch, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany, State University of New York. He has served as a consultant to a number of correctional systems in the United States and abroad, and has received many awards for distinguished contributions to criminology and penology.
Patricia A. Zapf, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York. She has conducted over 2,500 forensic evaluations in both the United States and Canada and has served as an expert witness in a number of cases, including the prosecution of José Padilla.