Activists in Brooklyn display replica cell to call to end of solitary confinement

August 16, 2018 By Rob Abruzzese, Legal Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Doug Van Zandt built the replica in part as a way to navigate the grief of losing his young son, Ben, to suicide in solitary at Fishkill, in addition to providing an organizing and education resource for the #HALTsolitary campaign. Photos by Jared Chausow

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A group of people protesting the use of solitary confinement held a public education event in Brooklyn on Wednesday where they displayed a replica cell that the public could experience.

Doug Van Zandt built the replica cell with his wife Alicia Barazza after their son Benjamin killed himself following a stint in solitary.

At the event, attendees discussed issues including solitary confinement, the harsh sentencing domestic violence survivors experience, the female prison experience, the aging person experience and bail and discovery reform.

This is a part of a series of events that various community groups, including the New York Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement’s #HALTsolitary campaign, the Correctional Association of NY, Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) Campaign, Coalition for Women Prisoners, JustLeadershipUSA, and the Bridge Multicultural Project, are hosting.