...The ruling undermines the 2015 settlement the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDRC) and prisoners had instituted, agreeing to the hours one can be in solitary confinement and the conditions that determine that prisoners placed in solitude should be restricted to those who pose a danger to other inmates, according to the SF Chronicle.

A class action suit filed for prisoners of Pelican Bay State Prison, known as Ashker vs. Governor of California, by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), claimed the state violated the 8th Amendment of the constitution, by keeping prisoners in confinement for an extended amount of time.

Samuel Miller, a CCR attorney and the attorney for the class action suit, said, “We are disappointed the panel has decided the term general population can be defined by the prison system however they please,” writes the Courthouse News, adding Judge Gwin said the 2015 settlement did not clarify the amount of time prisoners in solitary confinement are supposed to be out of it.

According to CCR, Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa, involved in the class action suit, asserts, “The settlement is something that has to be continued because some of the things CDCR agreed to, they haven’t accomplished. It’s a constant struggle for our freedom.” ...

Read the full article here.