The group advocating for Lackawanna County Prison to end its use of solitary confinement said it plans to take its fight to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
The Northeast Pennsylvania chapter of PA Stands Up said a Commonwealth Court judge denied their recent appeal after their lawsuit was dismissed, according to a post on social media.
The group sought to add a measure to ballots that would allow county residents to have a say in the prison’s practices.
When the county board of elections did not permit a ballot measure in November, the group sought damages to redo their campaign to collect signatures if a court appeal was unsuccessful.
Last year, Lackawanna County commissioners said prison regulations can’t be amended by ballot measures, citing the county’s prison board and home rule charter in a letter recognizing the group’s lawsuit.
"With each day that passes, folks in the Lackawanna County Prison continue to sit alone and without access to basic necessities; they continue to feel the very real and detrimental effects of solitary on their mental and physical health," NEPA Stands Up said in a statement.