Jesse Jackson Jr. Sent to Solitary Confinement for Helping Fellow Inmates Understand their Rights

The following was originally published on The Raw Story. 

Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. — son of civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson — was sent to solitary confinement earlier this year for helping other inmates understand and assert their rights, then transferred to a different prison. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Jackson was segregated from the inmate population for four to five days after a guard took exception to his advisement of other prisoners of their rights.

After a hearing, he was transferred from North Carolina to the federal corrections facility in Montgomery, AL. A source told the Sun Times that Jackson has been at odds with staff and guards at the North Carolina facility since the former Representative of Chicago’s south side began to inform other inmates of their rights under the law.

His sister Santita Jackson, said that the former congressman, 48, was trying to help the other inmates access what is rightfully theirs under the law.

“He wanted to be of service to people serving time with him,” she told the Sun-Times.

Jackson is serving a two and a half year sentence for improper use of campaign funds. He and his wife were convicted of financial impropriety and of attempting to obstruct the government’s investigation into them. Jackson plead guilty in October.

The Montgomery prison camp is located on the grounds of Maxwell Air Force Base, surrounded by acres of military barracks offices. The area around the facility is continually patrolled by guards and military police.

Family members reportedly visited the North Carolina prison after Jackson was released from solitary confinement, worried for his well-being. His father Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke to the Sun-Times from Japan, saying that his son’s bipolar disorder was badly affected by his conflicts with prison personnel, but that since the transfer, he’s “doing much better.”

“He’s been very disciplined in his health-recovery regimen,” said the elder Jackson. “He’s been doing a lot of reading and writing.”

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