A First report of its kind The study, released Tuesday, finally provided a clearer estimate of how many people experience solitary confinement on any given day in both US jails and jails: 122,840.
But the number, which accounts for about 6% of the country’s jail and prison inmates, is likely a significant undernumber. The calculation draws on data from state and local prisons, as well as state and federal prisons — data the report said has not been previously combined — but it was self-reported data and excludes all data from immigration detention centers and juvenile detention facilities.
Still, the report, released by the non-profit organization Solitary Watch and Unlock the Box, a campaign against solitary confinement, provides a more comprehensive picture of the use of solitary confinement than previously available.
Solitary confinement, also called solitary confinement including “restrictive housing”.commonly used throughout the criminal justice system, disproportionate to people of color. in 2020, a United Nations expert described solitary confinement as a method of torture when someone is subjected to this torture for more than 15 consecutive days.
The report was written by Solitary Watch’s Jean Casella and Alexandra Rivera, and Unlock the Box’s Jack Beck, Scott Paltrowitz, and Jessica Sandoval. It includes numbers from a report by the Vera Institute of Justice.
The report documents the recorded and estimated number of people held in solitary confinement for 22 hours or more on any given day in 2019. The number is not taken into account in the study Individuals forced into isolation or were put in Solitary confinement during the COVID-19 pandemicwhich had wider implications after 2019.
The report also lacks data from West Virginia, the only state that doesn’t share its solitary confinement data. Of the rest of the US states, Nevada reported the highest percentage of its inmates incarcerated and in solitary confinement (nearly 26%), while Delaware reported 0%.
“Solitary confinement is the worst thing that can legally be done to a person in this country, short of the death penalty. It turned out to be a form of torture,” Casella, who serves as director of Solitary Watch, told HuffPost.
“The idea that more than 100,000 Americans — more than one in 20 inmates — are exposed to these conditions every day is shocking and we hope it will move people to action,” Casella added.
“Solitary confinement is the worst thing that can legally be done to a person in this country, short of the death penalty.”
– Jean Casella, Lonely Watch
Accordingly prison policypeople are more likely to die in solitary confinement Suicide, opioid overdose or homicide if released. You’re also likely to suffer from hallucinations, self-harm, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other long-standing mental health problems.
The report finds that some individuals spend weeks, months or Years in solitary confinement, many suffer irreparable harm.
Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), the campaigned for the end of solitary confinementcalled the report’s findings a “disaster.”
“Putting a person in solitary confinement is a moral decay for this nation. To do this to hundreds of thousands of people — disproportionately to Black, Brown and Indigenous people — is catastrophic,” Bush said in an emailed statement to HuffPost.
Legislators and officials, including President Joe Biden And Vice President Kamala HarrisYou have promised to work to end or mitigate solitary confinement.
Likewise, the Federal Bureau of Prisons claims that it is “taking the necessary short- and long-term steps to diligently address this issue, and we believe it will.” [BOP Director Colette Peters’] Ability to achieve the goals effectively Executive Order of the President‘ said a spokesman for the Justice Department said NBC Newsreferring to Biden’s promise to “ensure conditions of detention are safe and humane” and “free from prolonged segregation.”
The call to end solitary confinement has gained importance in the last decade. But Casella told NBC, “Prisons and jails are perhaps the most change-resistant governmental institutions that we have in this country.”
“Creating any kind of change will be a long and arduous process,” she said.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
If you or someone you know needs assistance, dial 988 or call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Lifeline for Suicide Prevention. You can also get SMS support by checking here suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat. In addition, see local resources for mental health and crises at dontcallthepolice.com. Outside the US, please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention.