Musician Tom Morello To Meet With Survivors of Solitary Confinement in New Jersey

Morello joins survivors to urge New Jersey to end solitary confinement

On Tuesday, May 7, rock icon and political activist Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, the Nightwatchman) will meet with survivors of solitary confinement in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Morello will join survivors in urging New Jersey to stop its use of solitary confinement. The event is hosted through the New Jersey Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement (NJ-CAIC).

Legislation has been introduced in the New Jersey Assembly and Senate, A314/S3261, The Isolated Confinement Restriction Act, which would greatly limit the use of solitary confinement in New Jersey correctional facilities. The bill would ban isolation for more that 15 consecutive days, and no more than 20 days per 60-day period.

“New Jersey ranks fourth in the country in the number of its prisoners who are held in isolation for more than six years,” said Amos Caley, an organizer with NJ-CAIC. “This is shameful. We call on our legislators and Governor Murphy to support A314/S3261, The Isolated Confinement Restriction Act.”

The bill would also prohibit any member of vulnerable populations, as classified by clinical staff, from being placed in isolation. Vulnerable populations include people aged 21 and younger, people aged 55 and older, people with developmental disability, people with a disability based on mental illness, people with serious medical conditions, and people who are pregnant.

On Tuesday, May 7, Morello will be meeting with:

Nafeesah Goldsmith was 26 years old when she was placed in solitary confinement for 60 days at New Jersey State Prison. Nafeesah Goldsmith is pursuing a Master’s degree at Monmouth University and works as a community organizer with New Jersey Together.

Antonne Henshaw was released from prison in New Jersey last year where he served several years in solitary confinement for his advocacy as a paralegal. He is now an activist based in South Jersey.

Mark Hopkins spent more than 180 days in solitary confinement in New Jersey. He was first tortured by solitary confinement when he was 16 years old. He is now a graduate student at Rutgers-New Brunswick and an organizer with AAUP-AFT.

Ron Pierce is the Democracy and Justice Fellow at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. During his more than 30 years of incarceration in New Jersey prisons, he spent a total of about four years in solitary confinement.

Justice Rountree is an educator, organizer, and an artist. He is the curator of 360 Poetry Nights with Justice, in Newark, NJ. He spent a total of five years in isolation while incarcerated in New Jersey.