Testimonial of Geraldine Quintin

Geraldine Quintin is a 62 year old woman who has been in SHU, Special Housing Unit for three years from 2010 to 2013. Her testimonial gives a taste of what living in solitary confinement means for a prisoner and a human. “I am here due to enemy concerns. This experience of living in solitary confinement hasn’t been good for me mentally. I haven’t been able to call my family and I get very little mail from them. My mental health has gone down a few notches. It’s so bleak in here at times that I have seriously thought about killing myself. The COs are extremely unresponsive and I have had to beg for toilet paper for hours. This is a terrible thing when you need to use the restroom.Everything here in SHU is “Hurry up and wait!” I have seen the COs abuse certain inmates. I have been ridiculed and it’s awful for me since I suffer from depression and anxiety. Not being able to get something that I need makes me mad and upset. I have high blood pressure, so it doesn’t help my physical health to get angry. At the present time I am living on a prayer. I’m hoping I’ll be back in general population before long. Thanks for listening. “