Forbes article about the case.

Solitary - I suspect he has heard about American prisons. It's an investor cash cow over here - private prisons run by corporations. And the more they can cram in them, the better they like it, so I think you'll find that some of these corporations are behind the lobbying for stern mandatory prison sentences for all sorts of things, even non-violent crimes.

Mr. Tappin probably figured he had a better chance of being unmolested in solitary.

SRS