Prison reform advocate calls solitary confinement revenge

By TRAVIS LOLLER
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A longtime prison reform advocate in Tennessee says he’s being held in solitary confinement as revenge for his advocacy. Alex Friedmann filed a federal lawsuit Thursday asking that he be moved out of solitary, where he has been housed for 18 months. Friedman is accused of hiding loaded guns and ammunition in a new Nashville jail under construction. He has not yet faced trial. In a letter to The Associated Press, Friedman says he thinks he’s being punished by prison officials for his many years of advocacy. The lawsuit claims prison officials violated his Constitutional rights by placing him in punitive conditions although he has not been convicted of any crime.