Solitary confinement

==Alternatives and reform==

In light of the increasing public scrutiny of solitary confinement and its documented effects, corrections leaders, policymakers, and advocates have begun to look to alternatives. The [[New York City Department of Correction]] announced in 2013 that it would start transferring individuals with severe mental illness who commit disciplinary infractions to a setting similar to a hospital ward, where they would receive medication and [[psychotherapy|therapy]]. Those with less severe mental illness who violate facility rules are still placed in solitary, but with increased hours of therapy and a behavioral intervention program.<ref>{{cite news |last=Yee |first=Vivian |title=City Plans New Approach to Disciplining Mentally Ill Inmates |date=2013-05-12 |newspaper=New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/nyregion/a-new-approach-to-disciplining-mentally-ill-inmates.html |access-date=2022-08-19 |archive-date=20 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820043823/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/nyregion/a-new-approach-to-disciplining-mentally-ill-inmates.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 

Another approach that facilities have taken to reduce their reliance on solitary is to restrict the reasons for which people can be sent to solitary in the first place. In 2013, Maine replaced its policy of using solitary as a punishment for every infraction with a system of "informal sanctions" of reductions in privileges, which helped the state cut its then-full supermax population in half.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tapley |first=Lance |title=Reform comes to the supermax |date=2011-05-25 |newspaper=Portland Phoenix |url=http://portland.thephoenix.com/news/121171-reform-comes-to-the-supermax |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502224907/http://portland.thephoenix.com/news/121171-reform-comes-to-the-supermax/?page=1#TOPCONTENT |archive-date=2014-05-02}}</ref> In 2021, Washington State ended its use of disciplinary segregation entirely, stating in a press release that "the agency's data indicates that disciplinary segregation… has not been proven to be an effective sanction or deterrent to negative behavior."<ref>{{cite web |title=Press Release: Washington State Department of Corrections Ends Disciplinary Segregation |url=https://www.doc.wa.gov/news/2021/09302021p.htm#:~:text=PRESS%20RELEASE%3A%20Washington%20State%20Department%20of%20Corrections%20Ends%20Disciplinary%20Segregation,-Released%20September%2030&text=Clarification%3A%20On%20September%2030%2C%202021,use%20of%20all%20%27solitary%20confinement. |publisher=Washington State Department of Corrections |access-date=11 July 2023 |date=30 September 2021}}</ref>

A number of jurisdictions have also [[Solitary confinement in the United States#Legislation_and_reform|enacted legislation]] prohibiting the use of solitary for vulnerable groups or limiting it to a set number of days for the general prison population. New York's Humane Alternatives to Long-Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act prohibits people from being placed in solitary for more than 15 consecutive days, or 20 days in any 60-day period. The legislation also bans placements in solitary for individuals 21 and under or 55 and older; people with physical, medical, or mental disabilities; and people who are pregnant or have recently given birth.<ref>{{cite web |title=Summary of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act (A.2500/S.1623) |url=https://nycaic.org/legislation/ |publisher=New York Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement |access-date=24 July 2023}}</ref> Legislative efforts to curb the use of solitary, many of which reflect aspects of HALT, have taken place or are underway in at least 44 other states.<ref name = legislation/>

Finally, some corrections agencies have drawn inspiration from European countries such as Norway and Germany for reforming their use of solitary.<ref name = washington>{{cite web |last1=Guthrie |first1=Janelle |title=Looking to Norway for Inspiration on Reducing the Use of Solitary Confinement |url=https://www.vera.org/news/addressing-the-overuse-of-segregation-in-u-s-prisons-and-jails/looking-to-norway-for-inspiration-on-reducing-the-use-of-solitary-confinement |publisher=Vera Institute of Justice |access-date=11 July 2023 |date=11 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Subramanian |first1=Ram |last2=Shames |first2=Alison |title=Sentencing and Prison Practices in Germany and the Netherlands: Implications for the United States |url=https://www.vera.org/downloads/publications/european-american-prison-report-v3.pdf |publisher=Vera Institute of Justice |access-date=11 July 2023 |date=October 2013}}</ref> In these countries, solitary confinement is typically used far less often and for shorter periods of time than in the United States.<ref name = washington/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Crumpler |first1=Rachel |title=How do prisons in other countries prepare inmates for life outside? |url=https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2023/07/24/prison-reform-advocate-foreign-prisons-life-outside/ |access-date=24 July 2023 |date=24 July 2023}}</ref> Norwegian prison cells are also usually more spacious and better furnished compared to their North American counterparts.<ref name = angelis>{{cite journal |last1=Angelis |first1=Sophie |title=Limits to Prison Reform |journal=UC Irvine Law Review |date=December 2022 |volume=13 |issue=1 |url=https://scholarship.law.uci.edu/ucilr/vol13/iss1/5}}</ref> However, scholars have noted that the experience of solitary confinement in Norway is not necessarily less painful, and have been critical of prison [[reformism|reformists]] for prioritizing [[aesthetics|aesthetic sensibilities]] over the lived experiences of incarcerated people.<ref name = angelis/> In 2018, the [[Committee Against Torture|United Nations Committee against Torture]] criticised the "high rates of prolonged isolation" of prisoners in Norway, of which it stated, "amounts to solitary confinement".<ref>{{cite news |last= Orange |first= Richard |date= 13 December 2023 |title= EXPLAINED: How different is the Norwegian prison system really? |url= https://www.thelocal.no/20231213/explained-how-different-is-the-norwegian-prison-system-really |work= The Local Norway |access-date= 7 March 2024}}</ref>