Solitary confinement began as a means of segregating violent prisoners. Today, however, it is overused and used illogically, according to both prison advocates and the president of Texas' local guard union, Lance Lowry. The average stay in Texas solitary is just under two years. YEARS! Yet the new head of Colorado Corrections spent one 23-hour stint in a solitary cell last month and almost cracked; Colorado is revising its policy. Texas' executive director of Criminal Justice Brad Livingston expects Texas to follow with its own re-examination. Let's hope he doesn't just appoint another committee. We know there's a problem. Texas is holding more than 7,200 inmates in solitary, some for reputed gang affiliation.