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Solitary confinement

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More than 80,000 people are being held in long-term solitary confinement in U.S. prisons, and even more are held in isolation in immigrant detention centers and juvenile facilities. Long-term isolation has no rehabilitative benefit—but it does have serious negative psychological effects. Solitary confinement is considered a form of torture under international law. Solitary confinement violates the UN Convention Against Torture, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the UN International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.

AFSC works to end the practice of solitary confinement in prisons, jails, and detention centers across the country. 

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What is solitary confinement?-

Solitary confinement: Cruel and inhuman

On any given day, as many as 80,000 men and women are locked in solitary in U.S. prisons—alone for 23 hours a day. This video captures the visceral experience and long term impact of that isolation.

AFSC's Bonnie Kerness on solitary confinement

Bonnie Kerness, director of AFSC's Prison Watch Project, discusses solitary confinement on New Jersey Network (NJN).

Solitary confinement facts

One of AFSC's most requested resources, this information can help advocates and avtivists make a compelling case for why solitary confinement is cruel and inhumane. 

Torture in U.S. prisons

This report presents prisoners’ testimonies of torture and abuse alongside related international human rights agreements.

Beyond prisons: A new interfaith paradigm for our failed prison system

Written in 2006 by AFSC's Laura Magnani and Harmon Wray, Beyond Prisons is a strong indictment of the current prison system. purchased from Quaker Books, and a study guide is available for download here.

Effects of solitary confinement-

Survivors manual: Surviving in solitary

Through letters, poetry, and practical advice on surviving the miseries of solitary confinement, this book offers tips on mental, physical, and spiritual survival. Written by and for people living in control units, it was originally published in 1998. This fifth edition was released in 2012.

Lifetime lockdown: How isolation conditions impact prisoner reentry

This report represents the first effort to directly link conditions in Arizona’s supermax prisons with the state’s high recidivism rate.

California solitary confinement hearings bring home the human cost

On February 25th, AFSC participated in a hearing focused on the reality of new policies intended to change the practice of gang validation in prison, which presently leads many prisoners to be held in solitary confinement indefinitely based on their association with people whom prison staff perceives as gang members. 

A tough cell: US to defend solitary confinement use before UN

Ahead of the UN Committee Against Torture meeting in Geneva in Nov. 2014, AFSC's Bonnie Kerness and Ojore Lutalo highlighted the dangers of solitary confinement.

Visit Al Jazeera America to read more: "A tough cell: US to defend solitary confinement use before UN"

The art of surviving in solitary confinement

Former prisoner Ojore Lutalo creates powerful collages to help educate the public about the impacts of solitary confinement.

Politics of solitary confinement-

Race and the politics of isolation in U.S. Prisons

Tracing the historic development of isolation in the U.S. and its strategic use against poor and oppressed people of color and individuals who are seen as political threats, this article is based on documentary evidence from more than 30 years of interviews and letters from currently and formerly incarcerated people.

Torture and "Still Buried Alive"

When human rights abuses are this grave, linguistic sleight of hand not only intentionally distracts from the ongoing cruel acts, but is an active attempt to dodge responsibility for human rights violations.

Buried alive: Solitary confinement in Arizona’s prisons and jails

A 2007 report by AFSC staff Matthew Lowen and Caroline Isaacs on the use of long-term solitary confinement in various correctional facilities in Arizona. 

 
Buried alive: Long-term isolation in California youth and adult prisons

Published in May 2008 by AFSC's Laura Magnani, this report details the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's over-use and misuse of isolation units, with six recommendations for change.

Inalienable rights

International treaties, conventions, and declarations provide basic guidelines for the treatment of prisoners. However, those guidelines are routinely ignored by the U.S. criminal justice system. “Inalienable rights: Applying international human rights standards to the U.S. criminal justice system” is meant to help illuminate—and eliminate—this hypocritical double standard.

 

Related issues-

Impacts of incarceration

Incarceration negatively impacts people on both sides of prison, jail, and detention center walls. AFSC works to ameliorate these conditions and to lift up the stories of resilience, perseverance, and resistance from people living behind bars.

Detention and deportation pipeline

The U.S. deports over 300,000 people annually and holds approximately 400,000 people in immigrant detention facilities across the country at an annual cost of over $2 billion.  

Ending mass incarceration

As the U.S. continues to imprison more people than any country in the world, momentum is growing for change in the criminal justice system. Learn more about the problem of mass incarceration and join our work to end it.

Who we are

AFSC is a Quaker organization devoted to service, development, and peace programs throughout the world. Our work is based on the belief in the worth of every person, and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice. Learn more

Where we work

AFSC has offices around the world. To see a complete list see the Where We Work page.

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