His orders followed a report recently released by the U.S. Justice Department, commissioned to review the use of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons, that found that it is widely overused.
While the steps the president has taken are laudable — including prohibiting federal corrections officials from punishing prisoners with solitary confinement for low-level offenses, limiting the number of days a prisoner can be punished with solitary confinement to 60 days for the first offense rather than 365 days, and banning solitary confinement for juveniles in federal facilities — they serve only as a model for policies decided on in state prisons and local jails, where the vast majority of juvenile and adult offenders are being held in solitary confinement.
In fact, the president’s reforms will only apply to about 10,000 adults and a handful of juvenile offenders placed in “administrative segregation” or “restrictive housing” cells in federal prisons each year.
Solitary confinement generally consists of inmates being kept alone in an 80 square-foot space furnished with a bed, sink, toilet and food delivered through a slot in the door.
Individuals who experience prolonged isolation in a small room with sensory deprivation report depression, alienation, withdrawal and difficulty engaging with others after their release.
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