Inmate in Solitary for 16 Years Loses Self-Incrimination Appeal

An ex-inmate alleging his only avenue out of solitary confinement was to make self-incriminating statements lost an appeal to revive his civil lawsuit when a federal appeals court held the defendants were entitled to qualified immunity.

Garland Ballentine, now on parole, failed to identify controlling case law clearly establishing the prison officials’ actions violated the First and Fifth Amendments, and assuming a liberty interest existed, he received due process, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said.

Ballentine, sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for sexual assault, was placed in solitary confinement after officials determined he was part of ...