How to pronounce "exceed"

I'm not here to argue the guilt or innocence of any prisoner.

I'm here because as Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall said,

"When the prisons and gates slam shut,

prisoners do not lose their human quality."

Every prisoner I've interviewed has said there are three flecks of light

in the darkness of prison:

phone calls,

letters

and visits from family.

CMUs aren't solitary confinement, but they radically restrict all of these

to levels that meet or exceed the most extreme prisons in the United States.

Their phone calls can be limited to 45 minutes a month,

compared to the 300 minutes other prisoners receive.

Their letters can be limited to six pieces of paper.

Their visits can be limited to four hours per month,

compared to the 35 hours that people like Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph

receive in the supermax.

On top of that, CMU visits are non-contact which means prisoners are not allowed

to even hug their family.

As one CMU prisoner said,

"We're not being tortured here, except psychologically."