With bipartisan momentum for change in Congress, presidential attention, and the Association of State Correctional Administrators calling for a reduction in its use, the time is now for addressing the overuse of solitary confinement and its adverse effects on individuals and public safety. Join the Vera Institute of Justice and members of the advisory council for its Safe Alternatives to Segregation Initiative to hear about critical “on the ground” change strategies and reform efforts being tested and implemented by correctional leaders around the country—and the reasons behind them.
Common Misconceptions and Emerging Safe Alternatives
While the precise number of people held on any given day in what’s commonly called solitary confinement—though also known as segregated or restricted housing—is not known with any certainty, estimates run between 80,000 to 100,000 in state and federal prisons. However, evidence mounts that the practice produces many unwanted and harmful outcomes—fo ...
Last fall, the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, with support from the Jacob and Valeria Langeloth Foundation, convened a colloquium including 15 corrections agency heads and a like number of experts from the community of those seeking to reform the use of social isolation, often called “solitary confinement,” in U.S. prisons and jails. The pur ...
Before hurricanes Helene and Milton, officials failed to evacuate people in jails and prisons—yet most states rely on incarcerated people to work disaster response for little to no pay.
Incarcerated women fill sandbags before Hurricane Dorian in Florida in 2019. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA via Getty) When the need arises for disaster preparation, response, and recovery efforts, incarcerated people are put to work. With cleanup efforts underway in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, they have cut down trees and cleared hundreds of miles of ...
