Legislation proposed to limit the amount of time in solitary confinement
DELMARVA – New legislation seeks to change the policies surrounding solitary confinement.
“We’ve seen in study after study and in state after state that solitary confinement is inhumane and unproductive,” said U.S. Senator Chris Coons.
Solitary confinement reform. It’s something Senator Chris Coons is working on following recent studies proving that increased time in the hole is detrimental to one’s health. “An increasing amount of evidence shows that solitary confinement is far more harmful than what was previously understood, and frankly, not that productive. It increases recidivism. It increases the likelihood that those who undergo solitary confinement will commit further offenses and it doesn’t contribute to good management of correctional facilities,” said Senator Coons. “They start to lose touch with reality, that they get very depressed, sometimes suicidal, and that it can really cause permanent damage to their mental health,” said Mike Brickner, Executive Director of the Delaware American Civil Liberties Union.
Senator Coons says in the first hearing he did see some opposition. Opposition that Mike Brickner with the Delaware ACLU, in support of the bill also sees here locally. “But, oftentimes what we hear from people who support solitary confinement is that they want to make sure that they can maintain safety in the prisons. But, what I have found in talking to many corrections officers and other officials throughout the years is that solitary confinement is really not the answer to safety in our prisons,” said Brickner.
Brickner also mentions that solitary confinement is also used as a protective measure but, it can do more harm than good. “But that’s really not fair then for those LGBTQ folks that they’re putting them in solitary confinement so that they’re not victims of harassment or sexual assault or other types of things, but then that means that LGBTQ person is in solitary confinement 23 hours of the day and that hurts their mental health,” Brickner explains.
Senator Coons says not only will the bill limit solitary confinement but, it will pour the necessary resources back into those behind bars. “Improve access to mental health services, also improve the sort of monitoring and support for those in prison who are in restrictive housing or in solitary confinement to try and minimize the harm to inmates, while also making clear that it’s got mental health consequences for anyone to be in solitary confinement,” said Senator Coons.
Senator Coons still needs a republican co-sponsor to move the bill forward. Mike Brickner hopes that at the state level, states follow suit.
