Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/series/juvenile-solitary-confinement/page/3/)
In just the last month or so, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) joined a growing list of national organizations calling for an end to the solitary confinement of young people in this country.
California takes a historic step forward this month as it moves to enact restrictions on the use of solitary confinement in state and local facilities for youth — curbing a manifest violation of human rights and protecting its youth from the trauma of isolated confinement.
"After just 24 hours, I testify that solitary confinement is hell on earth. Solitary confinement is legalized torture," says Anyssa Williams, a Georgia State University student who spent 24 hours in an 8 by 8 cell replica for a school assignment.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion Tuesday that bans the use of solitary confinement — in all but the most exceptional circumstances — in all the county’s juvenile detention facilities.
It’s easier than ever before to experience a small taste of what’s it like to be kept in solitary confinement.
I arrived at the Anamosa Iowa Men’s Reformatory in October 1992. I can still remember riding in the van, wearing a set of cold steel shackles and handcuffs attached to a long dog chain that went around my waist and attached to a black box. The black box was padlocked around the cuffs, immobilizing my hands.
The federal government wants to help states eliminate the use of solitary confinement for juvenile offenders. “Our goal is to eliminate the practice,” said Robert Listenbee, OJJDP administrator.
A campaign to end solitary confinement for juveniles launched today, with supporters pledging to build on the momentum of leading-edge jurisdictions that have banned the practice.
As someone who has both sued and run correctional facilities for youth in the juvenile justice system, I appreciate the dangers and challenges around the use of solitary confinement of youth.
Solitary confinement is a practice that has been used in the U.S. prison system since 1829. It is based on a Quaker belief that prisoners isolated in stone cells with only a Bible use the time to repent, pray and find introspection.