‘How big is the average cell in solitary?’
Head of U.S. Federal Prisons couldn’t answer basic question about solitary confinement
By Julia B. Chan, The Center for Investigative Reporting
On Sunday’s episode of “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” on HBO, the comedian devoted almost 18 minutes to a segment critiquing the U.S. prison system. During this examination, Oliver zeroed in on an incident that occurred in February at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on solitary confinement.
During the hearing, U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., asks Charles Samuels Jr., director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons: “How big is a cell? How big is the average cell in solitary?”
It’s the kind of question you’d think the head of our federal prison system would be able to answer quickly. Instead, Samuels “almost comically struggles,” as Oliver puts it. And as Samuels attempts to stall for time, Franken wonders aloud, “Am I asking this wrong?”
Finally, Samuels wagers a guess. “The average size should be equivalent to 6 by 4” feet — dimensions less than those of a queen-size bed. It’s not until later in the hearing that the prisons director touches back on the question with a new answer: “Actually, it’s 10 by 7 — for the cell size.”
For comparison, that’s just a bit bigger than the 6-by-8-foot solitary confinement cells in which teenagers at New York City’s Rikers Island jail are held, according to our investigation. And although this awkward exchange between Franken and Samuels may have been played for comedy, solitary confinement is no laughing matter, especially for teenagers.
You can watch the “Last Week Tonight” prison segment below. The bit about the size of a solitary confinement cell starts around the 5-minute mark.
Note: The clip Oliver shows was edited for time and optimal hilarity, but it isn’t far from what actually went down.
Contact Julia at jchan@cironline.org and follow her on Twitter: @juliachanb.
For more, check out our Solitary Lives collection.
