House Democrats introduce bill to end solitary confinement

Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) led Democrats in introducing legislation Thursday to end solitary confinement in federal prisons, jails and detention centers. 

The End Solitary Confinement Act would cap the time incarcerated people and detainees are alone at four hours and require prison or jail staff to meet with the inmate within one hour. The separation would be used as a de-escalation tactic in an emergency situation as opposed to punishment. 

“Solitary confinement is a moral catastrophe,” said Bush, adding that the practice is “psychological torture.” 

“This practice is traumatic for people subjected to it, harmful to communities and isolating for loved ones,” she said. “Moreover, it is disproportionately inflicted on Black and brown folks, young people, LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized communities.”

Black and brown incarcerated people are more likely than white people to be placed in solitary confinement. In a 2016 study, Black men made up 40 percent of the total prison population in 43 jurisdictions but 45 percent of those in solitary confinement. Also, 21 percent of incarcerated people in solitary confinement were Latino, even though they made up only 20 percent of the total prison population. 

The United Nations has repeatedly condemned the use of solitary confinement — also referred to as segregation, secure housing, the hole or lockdown.

In 2015, the U.N. issued its Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, on prolonged isolation. Then, in 2020, one of the U.N.’s human rights experts expressed concern over the U.S.’s “excessive use” of solitary confinement in correctional facilities. 

Still, in May this year, a report found that more than 122,800 people in federal and state prisons and federal and local jails were placed in solitary confinement for 22 hours or more on any day in 2019.

The End Solitary Confinement Act would require incarcerated people to have access to at least 14 hours of time out of their cells each day. Those 14 hours must include seven hours of programming meant to address mental health, substance abuse and violence prevention.

“Solitary confinement is torture, and torture should have no place in our society,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) said. “It takes a devastating toll on mental health, heightens the risk of self-harm and suicide, increases recidivism and can lead to severe psychological trauma. We need to lead with restorative justice and recognize the human dignity of incarcerated people by abolishing this dehumanizing practice once and for all.”

There has been a trend over the last few years to end solitary confinement in some capacity. 

According to a report by the Unlock the Box Campaign, 500 bills in 44 states have been introduced over the last five years to address solitary confinement. Though some of these bills call for ending the practice in full, others are selective, with the focus on ending solitary confinement for young people, pregnant people, or people living with physical and mental disabilities.

“We know the clear, irreversible harm that solitary confinement causes to individuals, yet we continue to use this form of torture across the American criminal justice system,” Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) said. “These harms are well documented and lead to increased mental health risks and heightened rates of suicide. Solitary confinement is inhumane, and this form of torture should never be used, period.”

Studies have shown that time spent in solitary confinement shortens lives and has devastating effects on the mental health of incarcerated people.

Although people in solitary confinement make up only 6 percent to 8 percent of the total prison population, they account for nearly half of those who die by suicide, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.

Research by Cornell University has also found that those who spent time in solitary confinement had an increased risk of committing more crimes after being released from prison. 

It also found that time spent in confinement could affect a returning citizen’s probability of employment, with the impact to mental health most likely being the driving cause of this trouble. 

Senate Democrats last fall introduced a similar bill that would reduce the use of solitary confinement in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, though Bush’s law would end the practice completely.

As part of his 2020 campaign, President Biden promised criminal justice reform, including “ending the practice of solitary confinement, with very limited exceptions.” 

“Someday, we will look back and ask why we ever subjected people to prolonged solitary confinement and expected anything other than trauma, violence and death as a response,” Bush said.