Bryan Kohberger, who pleaded guilty to the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students, has been moved to solitary confinement, CNN affiliate KTVB reported.
Kohberger has been transferred to long-term restrictive housing in J Block at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, an Idaho Department of Corrections (IDOC) spokesperson told KTVB on Thursday.
Located about nine miles south of Boise, the facility is Idaho’s only maximum-security prison and houses some of the state’s “most disruptive male residents.”
Kohberger’s listing on the IDOC’s website confirms he is housed on J Block. CNN has reached out to the department for further details.
J Block can house up to 128 people, including those in protective custody and on death row, according to KTVB.
Inmates in long-term restrictive housing are held in single-person cells, moved in restraints, allowed one hour of outdoor recreation daily and permitted to shower every other day, IDOC told KTVB.
Kohberger was placed in solitary confinement more than a week after being sentenced to life in prison without parole. He declined to speak during his sentencing hearing in late July. The victims’ families say they still don’t know his motive.
The Idaho Maximum Security Institution has faced criticism for its conditions and treatment of inmates in solitary confinement. Last year 90 inmates organized a six-day hunger strike to protest delays in access to medical care, long bouts of isolation and “cages” used for recreational time, the Idaho Statesman reported.
Some inmates described the “cages” as large chain link-like metal boxes, littered with urine and feces.
Other men housed in a lower-security section told the Statesman the space is often littered with trash and bodily fluids, claiming the facility’s ventilation system hasn’t been cleaned in decades.
The IDOC told CNN in July the “recreation enclosures” are regularly cleaned, and individuals can request vent cleaning in their cells if needed. Following the hunger strike, the department said it “developed ways to increase vocational and educational opportunities, religious services, and recreation opportunities.”
“Safety is our number one priority for everyone living and working in our facilities,” the department told CNN.
The prison’s strict solitary confinement policies have also drawn concern.
Kevin Kempf, who served as director of the IDOC in 2016, told CNN affiliate KBOI at the time that inmates were confined alone for up to 23 hours a day with little human interaction, received meals in their cells, and were allowed showers only three times a week.
The corrections’ department has since implemented a step-down program that gradually transitions inmates from solitary confinement to a more open environment, including stages where they can interact with others, KBOI reported.
In its statement to CNN, the department said: “Long term restrictive housing is not a disciplinary sanction, it is a housing assignment designed to manage specific behaviors.”
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