A judge in Manitoba has now approved a $129 million settlement for inmates who were subjected to prolonged solitary confinement in provincial jails. The lawsuit alleged that prisoners were held in segregation for extended periods, suffering emotional, psychological, and physical harm. The settlement follows growing recognition across Canada that prolonged isolation can amount to cruel and unusual punishment and, in some circumstances, psychological torture.
When I read stories like this, I don’t think about statistics.
I think about a cell.
A steel door.
A tiny reinforced window you could barely see out of.
A slot in the door where food was pushed through.
And a fluorescent light that never seemed to change.
For three days, I experienced solitary confinement while wrongfully incarcerated in 2020… over a freakn civil matter and I harden hurt injured or killed or done harm to anyone except a corrupt judges ego!!
Now, some people will say:
“Three days isn’t two weeks or six months.”
They’re right.
But after living it, I can understand why courts, doctors, and human rights organizations have become increasingly concerned about the practice.
My cell reminded me of something straight out of The Shawshank Redemption.
There was no meaningful human interaction.
No way to tell whether it was morning or night.
The light seemed constant.
The only way I could estimate the time was when breakfast arrived each morning—usually around 7:00 a.m.
That tray became my clock.
My calendar.
My connection to the outside world.
The rest of the time was silence.
Just your thoughts.
The same walls.
The same door.
The same uncertainty.
You begin to realize how much of human existence depends on simple things we normally take for granted:
🔹 Sunlight
🔹 Conversation
🔹 Fresh air
🔹 Movement
🔹 Knowing what time it is
🔹 Seeing another human being
Take those away and time begins to blur.
Hours feel like days.
Days feel like weeks.
The United Nations has stated that prolonged solitary confinement exceeding 15 consecutive days can amount to psychological torture. The Manitoba settlement was approved after evidence was presented that many inmates suffered lasting psychological impacts from extended isolation.
The Manitoba case is not unique.
British Columbia approved a solitary confinement settlement in 2025, and Ontario reached a similar settlement years earlier. Across Canada, governments have been paying millions because courts increasingly recognize the damage that isolation can cause.
My own experience was short compared to many others.
But it was enough.
Enough to understand how a person could emerge from isolation profoundly changed.
Enough to understand why former inmates describe the experience as traumatic years later.
Enough to understand why so many lawsuits have succeeded.
Whether someone is guilty or innocent, convicted or awaiting trial, human beings do not stop being human beings.
And when governments lock people behind steel doors, society has a responsibility to ensure that punishment does not become something far darker.
The Manitoba settlement is a reminder that what happens behind prison walls matters.
And sometimes the most important stories are the ones told by people staring at a steel door, wondering what time it is.
Sources:
- Manitoba judge approves $129 million solitary confinement settlement (June 2026)
- British Columbia solitary confinement class action settlement (2025)
- Canadian solitary confinement litigation history and reforms
- https://apple.news/ARuN0YoEER8WrQKi23DHPww
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