Detaining juveniles in solitary confinement for long periods is ineffective, costly, and causes mental and physical anguish, according to a report by the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch.
In 2011, there were an estimated 95,000 juveniles incarcerated in prisons and a jail across the United States according to the report, Growing Up Locked Down: Youth in Solitary Confinement in Jails and Prisons Across the United States.
Researchers interviewed more than 125 juveniles across 19 states. They found some juveniles spend “22 or more hours each day alone, usually in a small cell behind a solid steel door, completely isolated both physically and socially, often for days, weeks, or even months on end,” as punishment for misconduct, protection or medical issues.
“Being in isolation to me felt like I was on an island all alone, dying a slow death from the inside out,” wrote a juvenile offender to a human rights organization.
The report said solitary confinement was extremely harmful on youngsters because it removed family contacts and prevented them from taking part in educational and rehabilitative programs.
“Solitary confinement of youth is itself a serious human rights violation and can constitute cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment under international human rights law,” according to the report.
The report makes the following recommendations to state and federal governments:
• Prohibit the solitary confi nement of youth under age 18.
• Prohibit the housing of adolescents with adults, or in jails and prisons designed to house adults.
• Strictly limit and regulate all forms of segregation and isolation of young people.
• Monitor and report on the segregation and isolation of adolescents.
• Ratify human rights treaties protecting young people without reservations.
The report was followed by legislative action in California, where on Jan. 8 Sen. Leland Yee (D) introduced SB 61 to strictly regulate solitary confi nement of juveniles
