By Miriam Raftery

September 1, 2015 (Oakland)--Thousands of inmates are set to be released from solitary confinement in California prisons, following settlement of a legal case reached between the state and prisoners held in isolation for a decade or more at Pelican Bay State Prison. Prisoners there spend up to 23 hours a day confined in windowless cells with no access to mail, the law library or other services. A United Nations official has called the confinement cruel and unusual punishment akin to torture.