In an op-ed running in Tuesday’s Washington Post President Barack Obama announced that he is adopting the recommendations of the Department of Justice on solitary confinement which, among other things, ends solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prisons.
In the piece, President Obama shares the story of Kalief Browder, a man who committed suicide after spending nearly two years in solitary confinement for stealing a backpack at age 16. President Obama writes, “He was sent to Rikers Island to await trial, where he reportedly endured unspeakable violence at the hands of inmates and guards,” adding even after release, “life was a constant struggle to recover from the trauma of being locked up alone for 23 hours a day.”
The adopted recommendations include banning solitary confinement for juveniles, expanding treatment for the mentally ill, and increasing the amount of time inmates in solitary confinement can spend outside of their cells. The move affects 10,000 inmates confined in federal prison and will hopefully be a model to the states. Today, there are as many as 100,000 people in the U.S. who are held in solitary confinement.
Solitary confinement has been a target of advocates of criminal justice reform who note the practice’s consequences including, depression, withdrawal and violent behavior. This is the second win for advocates of criminal justice reform who saw the supreme court retroactively apply a ban on juvenile life without parole on Monday.