California is rethinking solitary confinement.
According to PBS, the state agreed to major changes on Sept. 1.
California, which is home to the nation’s second largest prison population, agreed that it would no longer place inmates in solitary indefinitely, nor would it place inmates in solitary just because of their connection to gangs. Inmates who are currently in solitary would also have their cases reviewed as part of the agreement. […]
Inmates who are thought to be too dangerous for return to a prison’s general population unit would be placed in new wings with some social interaction and access to phone calls. Only those found to have committed major violations—like possessing a weapon, trying to escape or assaulting another prisoner—would be held in solitary.
The agreement could result in up to 1,800 inmates being removed from solitary. However, California has not stopped solitary confinement completely: About 4,600 prisoners will now be isolated for shorter periods, and about 1,000 others will remain in "modified isolation," meaning they can leave their cells more often.
The settlement comes six years after a group of inmates at Pelican Bay Prison filed a case against the state, Ashker v. Governor of California. The plaintiffs argued two things: First, that the use of solitary confinement was a constitutional violation of the Eighth Amendment's ban against cruel and unusual punishment, and second, that the "lack of any meaningful review" violated the prisoners' due process rights.
Solitary confinement has been found to have seriously detrimental effects on a person's physical and mental health. An article on the effects of solitary in the New Yorker stated that "EEG studies going back to the 1960s have shown diffuse slowing of brain waves in prisoners after a week or more of solitary confinement. […] Without sustained social interaction, the human brain may become as impaired as one that has incurred a traumatic injury." The article also quoted the findings of Craig Haney, a social psychology professor at UC Santa Cruz:
First, after months or years of complete isolation, many prisoners "begin to lose the ability to initiate behavior of any kind—to organize their own lives around activity and purpose," [said Haney.] "Chronic apathy, lethargy, depression, and despair often result… In extreme cases, prisoners may literally stop behaving," becoming essentially catatonic.
Second, almost ninety per cent of these prisoners had difficulties with "irrational anger," compared with just three per cent of the general population. Haney attributed this to the extreme restriction, the totality of control, and the extended absence of any opportunity for happiness or joy. Many prisoners in solitary become consumed with revenge fantasies.
A punishment with such deep and detrimental effects should be used sparingly, if at all. But before Tuesday, it was terrifyingly easy to get put into solitary in California, as you can read below.
According to the Los Angeles Times:
Among the criteria the state has used to isolate prisoners are certain tattoos, possession of artwork with gang symbolism, and statements from informants. And until recently, the only way out of solitary was to become an informant, a policy that critics said endangered inmates' lives.
In other words, being part of a certain gang could result a person's solitary confinement, whether or not the state believes their direct actions necessitate such punishment.
Furthermore, inmates in solitary have a very real incentive to inform on other inmates or suspects, making the possibility of false accusations and testimony from jailhouse informants much more likely.
The United States has a troubling history of confining inmates in solitary much more often than is considered reasonable. While national totals are not available due to poor data collection practices, a 2005 study found that 86,000 state and federal inmates were being held in solitary. That number does not include those in juvenile facilities, immigrant detention centers, or local jails, which would undoubtedly make the number higher. Until recently, Rikers Island alone had 990 isolation cells.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan E Méndez, has stated that "the use of solitary confinement in the US penitentiary system goes far beyond what is acceptable under international human rights law."
While California's agreement is commendable, it is not enough. Other states should also make changes, and California should continue to reduce the solitary population. Solitary confinement is a form of torture, and a free democracy should not employ it with nearly the frequency that we have, if at all.