>> All right. Thank you. >> In other news, with more than
23,000 people housed in Wisconsin's 36 adult prisons,
there is an ongoing effort by people formerly incarcerated and
those who run prisons to make conditions better. The
Department of Corrections tells us they're working with the
national consultant to examine its policies. Tonight, Murv
Seymour shows us how a Madison man travels the state educating
people about his time in prison. >> Reporter.
>> Use parole and compassion. >> Release.
month, you'll find a small group quietly advocating.
>> Stop, stop, stop the torture. >> One phrase at a time, on the
steps of the state capitol and at times, inside speaking at
hearings and lobbying legislators.
>> No more funds for solitary confinement.
>> Talib Akbar with the statewide faith based group
wisdom, is one of those people. >> No money for torture.
>> The message here is clear, and they're only allowed 30
minutes to deliver it. >> 30 minutes. You can do a lot
visually, mentally, physically. Youth parole and compassionate
release. just another number for them.
It's symbolic and personal. >> Overall goal is to make
people aware. People are locked down 23 hours a day. We've
chosen this day to represent these people, to stand up for
them. incarceration.
>> Talib Akbar estimates three and a half to four of it was
spent alone and isolated in a cell.
solitary confinement, anywhere from 360 days to 60 days. I
never would get out of here in less than 30 days. They call it
the hole. They call it solitary confinement. They call it
disciplinary separation. Overall, it's all of the above.
>> You're listening to sounds captured from inside an actual
disciplinary wing of a prison. >> The dimensions of the space
here is like ten feet by six. They'll place you in this, and.
And you have no other clothes on.
Talib remembers this space well. >> These are the clothes that
the prison guards were okay. And you get soft bottomed shoes
because they would consider this to be a weapon. You might be
able to see the clock where you are from the outside, but you
have no clock in here. The light stays on 24 over seven. I've
seen them strap them down. Take off all their clothes and just
leave them there. You know, some wild out. They defecate on
themselves right there on the table. You know that's wrong.
>> A concrete block bed and two inch mattress and blanket. A
cold concrete floor and walls. >> And it stays cold in here
because of the conditions of the bricks. But this is not the
place to punish a person. >> Talib tells his story of
incarceration and his efforts to change how people are punished
from the foot of a bed inside, not a real prison cell.
>> This is an exact replica. Pretty much.
>> Instead, it's a replica of one he built after his release
from Waupan Correctional Institution.
for anyone that hasn't been in a solitary confinement cell.
>> Drawing from memory, using a plain piece of paper, Talib hand
sketched every detail and dimension of a solitary prison
cell. He took the drawing to Edgewood College in Madison.
>> They're building a cell. >> Where students helped him
build it. >> There's a whole entire list
of things right there that can land you in solitary
confinement. It can be disobeying order, disrespect,
not obeying the order, the purpose of the exhibit, you
know, to make people aware of solitary confinement. What it's
like. You know, this is the box. You know what I mean? This is
the whole, you know, it's mentally affecting people, not
only the person who's in it, but also their family also. This is
an unwanted place for any human being. People who are mentally
ill should not be placed in solitary confinement, because
that's a condition that solitary confinement can't solve. There
are other ways to discipline a person. You can take some of the
privileges that they have leaned up against there, and see if we
can put it back over. No no no no.
travels Wisconsin and beyond, educating anyone who will listen
about the impact of solitary confinement.
here. Ministries church that sits in
the heart of the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison.
>> Okay. One, two, three. >> Talib and a few friends
pieced the cell together like a jigsaw puzzle.
>> My heart is just in this. People can understand where I'm
coming from when they see this project.
>> Once erected, the project will sit here for months to give
anyone who walks in off the street a tiny taste of what it's
like to be confined in a space like this.
>> Part of it, it's like, oh, it's really peaceful.
>> Eamonn Kalata is torn. >> And the other part of it is
like, is it peaceful or is it leaning more towards the
torture? Like torture, torture level? You know what I mean? I
feel like it can be a mixture of both. We're made to like,
interact with other humans and be around other people and be
strong enough to be able to share ideas and be vulnerable
and create things. >> That it was a like, visceral
experience being in there, something that really stuck out
to me was just the clothing items on the Bad.
>> Student. C.C. Babbit plans to work in social services once she
graduates. the anxiety within the tight
space. Michael Burch at The Crossing
Ministries, she advocated for this exhibit to be brought here.
She says its presence has her thinking about the future of
punishment. that we need to look into other
alternatives if we are able to repose our criminal justice
system is rehabilitative, rather than punitive. That might then
open conversations within the communities for just supporting
those who are impacted by our criminal justice system and
incarceration. Wisconsin Department of
Corrections tells us, most people in state prisons have
full privileges for recreation and programing. There is a
designation called disciplinary separation for conduct
violations. Doc says it is not solitary confinement, and
inmates there have access to visits, recreation, therapy and
programing. And their cells have windows. No matter what you call
it. >> Solitary confinement is a big
deal in in prison. >> Talib Akbar's efforts don't
stop with his portable cell. >> It's a moving billboard.
>> Near Madison's south side sits a nearly 30 year old box
truck. >> And it had nothing in it.
>> That he has transformed and repurposed.
machine. delivers his message and makes
his mobile exhibit even more mobile.
of confinement cell or replica cell of solitary confinement
that's been built in a truck. Recently I went to Detroit,
which is 433 miles. It's made out of wood, but it's to emulate
what is in the actual cell, which is steel, and that camera
stays on 24 over seven so they can watch you 24 over seven. And
give you directions from the intercom. People see that door,
which is most solitary confinement. Cell doors are red
and it's grabs their attention. >> Getting people's attention.
>> We've had dignitaries come in here just to spend a couple of
hours. punishment.
>> They can't do it. And then they write about it.
>> That's the goal of showcasing this roaming prison cell.
>> It's a battle that's going to take a long time. Stop, stop,
stop the torture. I'm committed to this. It's my life long
journey. It's like building a cathedral. One brick at a time.
>> Reporting from Madison for >> Reporting from Madison for