Joe Giarratano – Stories from Solitary

In a letter, Joe Giarratano discusses his 8 years in solitary confinement. He recalls 80-day hunger strikes, vitamin D deficiencies, and the disturbing noises that haunted him from other cells. Giarratano concludes his letter by declaring, “I do not care how strong one is mentally solitary confinement will adversely affect you. I have literally watched grown men deteriorate before my eyes, and go mad. There were times during my 8 year stint that I lost it and began to hallucinate and lose my grip on reality. What the public needs to realize is that eventually all of those who experience that will be released back into society, far more broken than when they went in.” He believes solitary confinement should only be a last resort, and that the stints should be no longer than “1 – 3 days tops.”