8/24/12 - Across the country, states are waking up to the fact that we must address our overreliance on solitary confinement. Long-term isolation costs too much, does nothing to rehabilitate prisoners, and exacerbates mental illness - or even causes it in prisoners who were healthy when they entered solitary. Officials in some states that formerly relied heavily on solitary confinement are now realizing that they should use public resources on proven policies that promote safe communities and fair treatment, and are successfully reducing the use of solitary - at the same time saving their states millions and reducing violence in the prisons. It's time for more states, and the federal Bureau of Prisons, to follow suit.
SPECIAL FEATURE
These are the real stories of real people who have been affected by solitary confinement. We hope that exposing the often-hidden realities of solitary to public view will encourage questions and increased opposition to it.
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SPECIAL FEATURE
Every day, in jails and prisons across the United States, young people under the age of 18 are held in solitary confinement. A new report from the ACLU and Human Rights Watch is based on interviews and correspondence with more than 125 young people who spent time in solitary confinement while under age 18 as well as with jail and/or prison officials in 10 states.
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SPECIAL FEATURE
A seven-year effort in Maine has successfully culminated in the state reducing the population of its solitary confinement Special Management Unit (SMU) by over 70 percent, as documented in this report from the ACLU of Maine,
Change Is Possible: A Case Study Of Solitary Confinement Reform In Maine. Maine's success serves as a useful case study of what is possible and as a model for achieving significant change across the nation.
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RESOURCES
The ACLU, scholars, activists, mental health experts, and faith-based organizations around the country are working to reform the use of long-term solitary confinement. Learn more about solitary and get the tools to help us make change.
Resources for Advocates »
RESOURCES
As we speak, thousands of people are locked in solitary confinement for days, weeks and even years in jails and prisons across the U.S. Yet solitary confinement is fundamentally inhumane and actually jeopardizes our public safety. We must insist on humane and more cost-effective methods of punishment and prison management. Learn more and share!
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NEWS & UPDATES
Read the most recent blog posts on solitary confinement. View more »
