How Lawsuits Changed Pelican Bay: The Ashker Settlement and the End of Indefinite Solitary

Описание: Inside California’s notorious Pelican Bay State Prison, hundreds of men spent decades in solitary confinement — locked away for 22 to 24 hours a day with no end in sight. The class action lawsuit Ashker v. Brown (later Ashker v. Newsom) changed everything.

This documentary explores the brutal reality of Pelican Bay’s Security Housing Unit (SHU), the hunger strikes of 2011 and 2013, and the landmark 2015 settlement that ended indefinite solitary confinement based solely on gang validation.

From the silence of SHU cells to the courtroom that forced reform, this is the story of how prisoners, families, and lawyers challenged one of the harshest systems in America — and won.



0:00 – Intro: The Corridor of Silence
1:05 – Life Inside Pelican Bay’s SHU
3:10 – The Toll of Indefinite Isolation
5:20 – Gang Validation and “No-Win Choices”
7:15 – The 2011 Hunger Strike Begins
9:00 – The 2013 Hunger Strike and Global Attention
11:05 – Families and Advocates Demand Change
12:30 – Ashker v. Brown: Inside the Courtroom
14:10 – The 2015 Settlement and Its Impact
15:20 – After the SHU: Release and Struggles
15:50 – Outro: From Silence to Reform