A Pennsylvania death row inmate that has spent over a quarter century in solitary confinement can now sue the prison, thanks to a recent ruling.
A U.S. appeals court ruled that Roy Lee Williams, 62, can now sue the Pennsylvania state prison for cruel and unusual punishment.
Williams was 26 years old when he was sentenced to death for killing a construction worker in Philadelphia in 1988, according to Fox 29. At his trial, the Associated Press reported that Williams, who is Black, said he wanted to kill a white person because a white person put him in jail for a robbery.
Williams then spent 1993 through 2019 in solitary confinement despite having a history of mental illness dating back to when he was 14 years old. He was only released when a legal settlement forced the state to stop housing death-row inmates in solitary confinement.
In his initial lawsuit, which he filed without a lawyer's assistance, Williams recalled a six-month disciplinary period when he wasn't even allowed a radio, an experience he described as being "isolated on top of being isolated," Fox 29 reported.
Prisoners living in solitary confinement usually spend just an hour a day outside their cell. Fox 29 reported that advocates also say it's difficult for them to sleep because their environments are usually endlessly loud and bright.
According to his case summary, Williams can sue the state prison for placing him in "prolonged solitary confinement without penological justification," violating both "the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment" and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) since prison officials knew he had a history of severe mental health and cognition problems.
Williams remains in custody and under a death sentence, but he is seeking money damages. He is represented by the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project, which Fox 29 reported "has filed a number of similar suits alleging undue harm from years of isolation."
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