Solitary Confinement in Oregon Prisons
Jenkins-Millage et al. v. Oregon Department of Corrections
Case Summary
On June 11, 2026, Dominique Jenkins-Millage, Linsey Duvall, Orlando Pouncey, Martin Kirk-Varela and Rolando Martinez-Farias filed a class action lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC), arguing that its solitary confinement practices violate Oregon constitutional law and disability rights law. The lawsuit argues that ODOC subjects our plaintiffs and others in solitary confinement to dangerous and dehumanizing treatment that has caused new and worsening physical and mental illness, and that ODOC has denied reasonable accommodations to people in solitary confinement with disabilities. The five plaintiffs are being represented by Prison Law Office, the Oregon Justice Resource Center, the Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center, and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.
People held in solitary confinement in Oregon prisons spend 23 to 24 hours a day inside windowless boxes smaller than a parking space, sometimes for months to years on end. They face extreme restrictions on their time outside, contact with other incarcerated people, and contact with their loved ones. They eat alone, exercise alone, worship alone, mourn alone, and—far too often—suffer mental breakdowns alone. ODOC’s solitary confinement program also discriminates against people with physical disabilities. People with physical disabilities in solitary confinement are placed in inaccessible cells and denied basic disability accommodations.
“People hear the term “solitary confinement” and think it’s simply being alone. It’s not. It’s being cut off from human connection, day after day, sometimes for months or years. The isolation changes you. The silence becomes overwhelming, your sense of time disappears, and the physical, psychological and emotional toll can be devastating. This is the lowest point of my entire life, and I’ve been shot and experienced homelessness.”
Plaintiff Linsey Duvall struggles to sleep in her solitary confinement unit due to the screams of other incarcerated people who are experiencing acute mental health crises. She has experienced a resurgence of night terrors that she has not experienced since she was a child, and she reports that solitary makes her ADD, ADHD, and OCD symptoms overwhelming. She said she feels like she’s losing her mind.
Plaintiff Martin Kirk-Varela has multiple young children and his contact with them was completely cut off when ODOC placed him in solitary confinement and took away his personal property, including contact information for his loved ones. He is also unable to practice his religion, causing him to feel disconnected from his sense of comfort. Plaintiff Rolando Martinez-Farias lost his relationship with his partner and he has also been largely unable to communicate with his three teenage children, whom he speaks to regularly when he is housed with the general population.
Plaintiff Orlando Pouncey has a severe vision disability but is denied reading and writing accommodations in solitary confinement and the extreme isolation cuts him off from other people who could help him. He only sees mental health staff outside of his cell for ten to thirty minutes every few months. Despite describing his deteriorating mental health due to conditions in solitary confinement, he has been repeatedly told by providers that they cannot help address conditions.
“I don’t wish this on anybody. [I am participating in this case] because I wish it was a little bit better in the future, even if not for me.”
We are bringing this class action lawsuit against the Department of Corrections because prisoners who have experienced solitary confinement in Oregon have been denied basic rights and their dignity. We look forward to proving in court that ODOC’s solitary confinement program violates the constitutional rights of Oregonians.
documents
Jenkins-Millage et al. v. Oregon Department of Corrections - Complaint 6.11.26