Solitary Confinement Symposium

Despite growing evidence of the devastating psychological and physical effects of solitary confinement, Minnesota continues to isolate individuals for months—sometimes nearly a year—at a time. At Oak Park Heights, the state’s only maximum-security prison, people are held in the Administrative Control Unit (ACU), where extreme isolation and surveillance define daily life. Robert Ives, who spent 600 days in ACU, recounted his experience of unrelenting solitude, describing the mental toll of being locked in a soundproof cell with no physical human contact. “This is a place no 20-year-old kid should ever find himself,” he wrote.

Ives’ story is not an isolated one—it reflects a deeper crisis within Minnesota’s carceral system. Nationwide, solitary confinement remains a routine form of punishment, despite links to depression, hallucinations, self-harm, and suicide. In Texas, for example, over 25% of prison suicides occur in segregation units that hold less than 3% of the population. In Minnesota, the maximum sentence for solitary is 360 days—far longer than limits in neighboring states like Iowa, Wisconsin, and New York.

Co-sponsored by Until We Are All Free, the ACLU, the Advocates for Human Rights, Minnesota Doctors for Health Equity, the James H. Binger Center for New Americans, the Human Rights Center, the Human Rights Program at the University of Minnesota, and Metro State University’s Transformation and Reentry Through Education and Community (TREC) Program - the symposium will bring together legislators, scholars, and community organizers to examine solitary confinement practices and push for reform.

Attendees will learn about recent legislative efforts such as New York’s HALT Act and New Jersey’s restrictions on isolation for vulnerable populations. Leading voices will discuss the public health consequences of long-term isolation and pathways toward change.

Join us to reimagine carceral justice, center human dignity, and explore opportunities for meaningful reform in Minnesota and beyond.