My first weekly blog/column at the Britannica Blog asks

What do Steven Jay Russell and Bradley Manning have in common? Manning of course is the U.S. Army private accused of passing massive amounts of Department of Defense and Department of State cables to WikiLeaks. Russell is the serial con man featured in the movie, I Love You Phillip Morris. Manning faces a maximum sentence of 52 years, while Russell is currently nine years into a sentence of 144 years (45 years for embezzlement and 99 years for escaping)….

Well, one thing they have in common is that they are both being held in solitary confinement 23 hours a day.

Is solitary confinement outrageous and inhumane for nonviolent prisoners? Read more here.

And while you’re at Britannica.com, read my entry on libertarianism.