Prisoner in solitary for 36 years wants reprieve

A grade-school dropout from Philadelphia sentenced to life in prison for his role in a fatal 1970 gang fight, is trying to win his release from solitary confinement, where he has been kept for more than 35 years.

Arthur Johnson, now 63, was accused of taking part in two escape attempts during his early years in prison, the last time in 1984.

But lawyers trying to get him moved to the general prison population say the second claim of an escape attempt seems far-fetched because he was already in solitary at the time. In any case, they say, he has had only three minor infractions in the past 25 years.

Bret Grote, an attorney at the Pittsburgh-based Abolitionist Law Centre, which fights for prisoner rights, said the punishment amounts to torture. In a federal lawsuit, he argues it violates constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment.