>> All right.

Thank you.

>> In other news, with more than 23,000 people housed in Wisconsin's 36 adult prisons, there is an ongoing effort by people formerly incarcerated and those who run prisons to make conditions better.

The Department of Corrections tells us they're working with the national consultant to examine its policies.

Tonight, Murv Seymour shows us how a Madison man travels the state educating people about his time in prison.

>> Reporter.

>> Use parole and compassion.

>> Release.

month, you'll find a small group quietly advocating.

>> Stop, stop, stop the torture.

>> One phrase at a time, on the steps of the state capitol and at times, inside speaking at hearings and lobbying legislators.

>> No more funds for solitary confinement.

>> Talib Akbar with the statewide faith based group wisdom, is one of those people.

>> No money for torture.

>> The message here is clear, and they're only allowed 30 minutes to deliver it.

>> 30 minutes.

You can do a lot visually, mentally, physically.

Youth parole and compassionate release.

just another number for them.

It's symbolic and personal.

>> Overall goal is to make people aware.

People are locked down 23 hours a day.

We've chosen this day to represent these people, to stand up for them.

incarceration.

>> Talib Akbar estimates three and a half to four of it was spent alone and isolated in a cell.

solitary confinement, anywhere from 360 days to 60 days.

I never would get out of here in less than 30 days.

They call it the hole.

They call it solitary confinement.

They call it disciplinary separation.

Overall, it's all of the above.

>> You're listening to sounds captured from inside an actual disciplinary wing of a prison.

>> The dimensions of the space here is like ten feet by six.

They'll place you in this, and.

And you have no other clothes on.

Talib remembers this space well.

>> These are the clothes that the prison guards were okay.

And you get soft bottomed shoes because they would consider this to be a weapon.

You might be able to see the clock where you are from the outside, but you have no clock in here.

The light stays on 24 over seven.

I've seen them strap them down.

Take off all their clothes and just leave them there.

You know, some wild out.

They defecate on themselves right there on the table.

You know that's wrong.

>> A concrete block bed and two inch mattress and blanket.

A cold concrete floor and walls.

>> And it stays cold in here because of the conditions of the bricks.

But this is not the place to punish a person.

>> Talib tells his story of incarceration and his efforts to change how people are punished from the foot of a bed inside, not a real prison cell.

>> This is an exact replica.

Pretty much.

>> Instead, it's a replica of one he built after his release from Waupan Correctional Institution.

for anyone that hasn't been in a solitary confinement cell.

>> Drawing from memory, using a plain piece of paper, Talib hand sketched every detail and dimension of a solitary prison cell.

He took the drawing to Edgewood College in Madison.

>> They're building a cell.

>> Where students helped him build it.

>> There's a whole entire list of things right there that can land you in solitary confinement.

It can be disobeying order, disrespect, not obeying the order, the purpose of the exhibit, you know, to make people aware of solitary confinement.

What it's like.

You know, this is the box.

You know what I mean?

This is the whole, you know, it's mentally affecting people, not only the person who's in it, but also their family also.

This is an unwanted place for any human being.

People who are mentally ill should not be placed in solitary confinement, because that's a condition that solitary confinement can't solve.

There are other ways to discipline a person.

You can take some of the privileges that they have leaned up against there, and see if we can put it back over.

No no no no.

travels Wisconsin and beyond, educating anyone who will listen about the impact of solitary confinement.

here.

Ministries church that sits in the heart of the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison.

>> Okay.

One, two, three.

>> Talib and a few friends pieced the cell together like a jigsaw puzzle.

>> My heart is just in this.

People can understand where I'm coming from when they see this project.

>> Once erected, the project will sit here for months to give anyone who walks in off the street a tiny taste of what it's like to be confined in a space like this.

>> Part of it, it's like, oh, it's really peaceful.

>> Eamonn Kalata is torn.

>> And the other part of it is like, is it peaceful or is it leaning more towards the torture?

Like torture, torture level?

You know what I mean?

I feel like it can be a mixture of both.

We're made to like, interact with other humans and be around other people and be strong enough to be able to share ideas and be vulnerable and create things.

>> That it was a like, visceral experience being in there, something that really stuck out to me was just the clothing items on the Bad.

>> Student.

C.C.

Babbit plans to work in social services once she graduates.

the anxiety within the tight space.

Michael Burch at The Crossing Ministries, she advocated for this exhibit to be brought here.

She says its presence has her thinking about the future of punishment.

that we need to look into other alternatives if we are able to repose our criminal justice system is rehabilitative, rather than punitive.

That might then open conversations within the communities for just supporting those who are impacted by our criminal justice system and incarceration.

Wisconsin Department of Corrections tells us, most people in state prisons have full privileges for recreation and programing.

There is a designation called disciplinary separation for conduct violations.

Doc says it is not solitary confinement, and inmates there have access to visits, recreation, therapy and programing.

And their cells have windows.

No matter what you call it.

>> Solitary confinement is a big deal in in prison.

>> Talib Akbar's efforts don't stop with his portable cell.

>> It's a moving billboard.

>> Near Madison's south side sits a nearly 30 year old box truck.

>> And it had nothing in it.

>> That he has transformed and repurposed.

machine.

delivers his message and makes his mobile exhibit even more mobile.

of confinement cell or replica cell of solitary confinement that's been built in a truck.

Recently I went to Detroit, which is 433 miles.

It's made out of wood, but it's to emulate what is in the actual cell, which is steel, and that camera stays on 24 over seven so they can watch you 24 over seven.

And give you directions from the intercom.

People see that door, which is most solitary confinement.

Cell doors are red and it's grabs their attention.

>> Getting people's attention.

>> We've had dignitaries come in here just to spend a couple of hours.

punishment.

>> They can't do it.

And then they write about it.

>> That's the goal of showcasing this roaming prison cell.

>> It's a battle that's going to take a long time.

Stop, stop, stop the torture.

I'm committed to this.

It's my life long journey.

It's like building a cathedral.

One brick at a time.

>> Reporting from Madison for >> Reporting from Madison for