ILLEGAL CONFINEMENT?

SOLITARY CONFINEMENT at Allegheny County Jail has been banned since Jan. 1, 2022, after a majority of voters opted to eliminate it during a countywide referendum. Pittsburgh City Paper’s March 2023 Jail Watch column summarized findings from two expert reports on conditions at the Allegheny County Jail indicating that officers continue to use solitary confinement as punishment and in other ways prohibited by law.

council’s solicitor, arguing that the jail’s documented practice of locking down one or more pods at the jail violates the provisions of the referendum. Although Hallam says jail officials had previously claimed it doesn’t count as solitary confinement if there’s more than one person in the cell, Frank’s opinion reportedly finds all incarcerees must receive at least four hours of out-of-cell time a day regardless of whether they’re sharing a cell with others. Hallam told

During the April 6 Jail Oversight Board meeting, member Bethany Hallam read excerpts of a new legal opinion from Frederick Frank, county the board that the county council solicitor’s opinion indicates that the jail and the oversight board are vulnerable to a lawsuit on these grounds.