One-hundred and twenty days in solitary confinement is one of the harshest punishments available within Oregon prisons. Its the type of punishment given to people who commit assault or arson, take a hostage or try to escape. Its also the punishment imposed on Mark Wilson, a prominent incarcerated legal assistant with a near-perfect disciplinary record who has helped thousands of other prisoners pursue legal claims.

Wilsons offense? A prison staff member had left a plastic toy telephone with blue wheels and a smiley face on his desk a joking reference to the number of calls Wilson fielded at work. More than a year later, Oregons Department of Corrections said the toy phone was evidence that Wilson had compromised the employee who gave it to him. They fired him from his job, and subjected him to a punishment defined by the United Nations as torture.

A HuffPost investigation based on hundreds of pages of court documents, emails and audio recordings of Wilsons disciplinary hearings obtained through public records requests, as well as extensive interviews with Wilson, prisoners he has assisted and lawyers he has worked with reveals a pattern of retaliation by DOC against one of its most effective incarcerated legal assistants.

People who are incarcerated have a constitutional right to challenge their criminal cases and conditions of confinement. But for many, this right only exists on paper. Court-appointed attorneys are only guaranteed in specific circumstances, leaving many who want to challenge their sentences, introduce new evidence or sue over prison conditions left to navigate the court system on their own. Throughout the country, legal assistants like Wilson offer many prisoners their only opportunity to access the courts by advising them on their rights, drafting legal documents, and walking them through the litigation process. In Oregon prisons, the job pays $77 a month and is open to incarcerated people with a high school diploma or GED. Knowledge of the legal system is not required, and the quality of assistance varies widely.

During his decades of work as a legal assistant, Wilson established a reputation as one of the best at his job. In conversation, he cites case numbers, prison rules and statutes from memory. Those who have relied on him for help say he is exceedingly compassionate and trustworthy. Bar-licensed lawyers say they have learned about prisoners rights litigation through reading his court filings. He has helped people with everything from divorce proceedings to accessing life-saving medical care to getting out of prison. The lawsuits he has helped bring against Oregons DOC over conditions of confinement have cost the department millions of dollars.

Oregons Corrections Department claims to encourage this kind of behavior. The Oregon Way, the department says on its website , is a philosophical approach to corrections rooted in humanizing and normalizing the prison environment. In 2017, a group of corrections staffers and state lawmakers traveled to Norway to tour the countrys prisons, which are known to treat the incarcerated more humanely than those in the U.S. Part of the goal of that trip, according to DOCs website , was to find ways to reduce the use of special housing, a euphemistic term that includes solitary confinement. After that trip, the state legislature officially changed all statutory references to inmate to adult in custody.

Words are powerful and they matter, DOC Director Colette Peters said in written testimony in support of the wording change.

It was in the spirit of creating a humane and normalized environment that Wilsons boss, library coordinator Pam McKinney, put the toy phone on his desk, she later said. DOC has not provided compelling evidence that Wilson compromised McKinney or coerced her into doing anything inappropriate. Without that evidence, the departments actions have the appearance of a retaliation campaign, aimed at blocking Wilson from helping other prisoners access the courts.

In doing so, DOC has not only punished Wilson but also deprived the rest of the people imprisoned at the Oregon State Correctional Institution of a valuable resource.

Thats basically how DOC wants it, said a friend of Wilsons who is also incarcerated at OSCI and requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation. The less people who are competent and can navigate the legal world, the less theyre going to be held accountable. Thats by design.

Oregons Department of Corrections declined to respond to a detailed list of questions, citing pending litigation.