January 31, 2011 10:03AM # Why Is Bradley Manning in Solitary Confinement? By [David Boaz](https://www.cato.org/people/david-boaz) --- SHARE [My first weekly blog/​column](http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2011/01/sentenced-to-solitary-confinement-for-embarrassing-the-state/) 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](http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1701592/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](http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/sep/06/steven-russell-elizabeth-day-jim-carrey) (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](http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2011/01/sentenced-to-solitary-confinement-for-embarrassing-the-state/). And while you’re at Bri​tan​ni​ca​.com, read my entry on [libertarianism](http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/339321/libertarianism). ##### Related Tags [General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).