Ban Long-Term Solitary Confinement
More than 600 people are currently in solitary confinement in our state prisons, in conditions that the international community has deemed torture. Black people and people of color, as well as people with disabilities, are disproportionally placed in these barbaric conditions, often for months and years at a time.
This op-ed explains the current state of solitary in Washington and why true reform is needed.
Advocates have been pushing for the Washington Department of Corrections to end the use of solitary for more than a decade now. We are glad to see DOC taking some steps to curb this barbaric practice by banning disciplinary segregation. But if the DOC recognizes solitary is harmful to people, they should be abolishing all solitary, including administrative segregation, not just one form of it. The vast majority of the hundreds of people in solitary will not be impacted by this change at all and they will be left to suffer in empty cages until DOC makes true reforms.
Learn more about the devastating harms of solitary in the December 2022 report from DRW: Many faces of solitary.
Faces of Solitary: Joseph
Learn more about the devastating harms of solitary, about his experience and the need for reform:
Advocacy Resources
Ban Solitary produced by AVID, Rooted in Rights, and the ACLU of Washington
Abolish Solitary Confinement One Pager
Health Impact Review of HB 1312 (pre-curser to HB 1756)
Washington State Department of Corrections Data on Restrictive Housing
Media Coverage:
January 31, 2022 – PubliCola: “State Considers Prison Reform Proposals with Sweeping Impacts”