solitary confinement Archives

As NY Dooms More Kids In The Criminal Justice System, The Push To Raise The Age Continues

Cadeem Gibbs March 9, 2016 Justice System, Youth Justice

The legislative session is in full swing, with raising the age of criminal responsibility at the top of the priority list for members of the Raise The Age-NY campaign, myself included. The Campaign for Youth Justice reports that 250,000 youth are tried, sentenced or incarcerated as adults each year in the United States. …

President Obama Takes On Solitary Confinement

Rebecca Lawrence January 26, 2016 America, Crimes Against Children, Crimes Against Inmates, Justice System

President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks at the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno, Okla., Thursday, July 16, 2015. As part of a weeklong focus on inequities in the criminal justice system, the president will meet separately Thursday with law enforcement officials and nonviolent drug offenders who are paying their debt to society at the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison for male offenders near Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Today’s edition of the Washington Post contains an op-ed by President Obama outlining a series of executive actions on the use of solitary confinement in American federal prisons. Currently around 100,000 inmates are serving time in solitary confinement. The Justice Department’s research has found a high incidence of depression, withdrawal, exacerbated …