Solitary Confinement
Solitary confinement is a cruel punishment enforced on inmates for at times minor infractions. Solitary confinement treats inmates as sub-human and is a form of torture that we need to fix or abolish
How Solitary Confinement Impacts Inmates' Health
Any amount of time spent in solitary confinement is extremely harmful to those subjected to it. Even just a day in solitary is enough to cause damage that can take months or even years to fix. Long-term solitary victims often develop issues that they are stuck with for the rest of their life. Solitary is comparable to physical torture, which is illegal under United Nations rules. Inmates are mentally and physically damaged due to solitary. Inmates develop mental issues such as depression, paranoia, panic attacks, hallucinations, and much more. In rare cases, inmates have developed a phobia known as agoraphobia after being subjected to the cramped solitary cells. Inmates also develop physical issues such as heart palpitations, sleeping problems, hypersensitivity to light and sound, and much more. These physical and mental health effects can shorten life expectancies and lead those who suffer from these effects to commit dangerous and harmful actions that can result in death to themselves or others.
An infographic looking at the rates of various causes of death after being placed in solitary for different amounts of time.
An infographic covering many important statistics and information about solitary confinement.
Bias in Solitary Confinement
Not only is solitary confinement extremely harmful, but it also is used as a weapon that is unfairly aimed at people of color, and LGBTQ+ people. A study by the New York Times of over 60,000 disciplinary incidents found that people of color were 30% more likely to receive infractions and disciplinary tickets and were 65% more likely to be placed in solitary confinement. This rate of placement in solitary confinement is incredibly unfair and unjust to those who received these punishments for things that could be minor at times. We can't have a system that causes people of color to be so disproportionately subjected to extreme punishment. LGBTQ+ people are also punished at rates higher than the general population. A study by Black & Pink, a criminal justice organization that studies and advocates for better treatment of LGBTQ+ people in prison found that 85% of LGBTQ+ prisoners experienced some form of solitary confinement and a staggering 50% of those were in solitary confinement for more than 2 years. LGBTQ+ people are also placed in solitary confinement 64% more often than heterosexual inmates. Solitary is often used as a way to protect LGBTQ+ people from sexual abuse from other inmates, but biases against LGBTQ+ people from guards also have a drastic impact on these numbers.
An infographic looking at the racial divide in solitary confinement compared to the general population in both mens and womens prisons
Children in Solitary Confinement and "Protection"
Children are also subjected to the horrors of solitary and suffer at times even worse effects than adults in prolonged isolation. In a survey by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), they found that 35% of juveniles were placed in solitary confinement and of that 35%, 55% of them were placed in solitary confinement for more than 24 hours. These numbers were only for children in juvenile detention. Children in adult prisons, on the other hand, weren't mainly placed in solitary confinement as punishment, but as "protection" from other inmates. In theory, this may have seemed like a good idea so that the children aren't hurt or abused by the inmates but this is possibly the worst way of protecting them. Solitary is strongly linked to juvenile suicide and a study conducted by OJJDP in 2009 found that 50% of all juveniles who died in prison died due to suicide in their cells. We can't continue to use a system that is intended for extreme, inhumane punishment as a way to "protect" juveniles in adult prisons cause harm to developing brains.
An infographic covering many of the resources that children in solitary confinement are denied.