American Civil Liberties Union

The Pelican Bay hunger strike has ended, but the conversation about solitary confinement must continue. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) must change its policies on solitary confinement for many persuasive reasons. Some may point to the vast number of studies that have found long-term solitary confinement to be psychologically harmful. A 2003 University of California, Santa Cruz, study, for example, found that months or years of isolation causes inmates to suffer from chronic apathy, lethargy, depression, despair, and irrational anger.