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Obama Bans Solitary Confinement For Juveniles In Federal Prisons

Author Name, ProPublica

2016-01-25 00:00:00

Obama Bans Solitary Confinement For Juveniles In Federal Prisons

Enlarge this image toggle caption Carolyn Kaster/AP Carolyn Kaster/AP

On Monday, President Obama announced changes to the federal prison system that include banning solitary confinement for juvenile offenders and for prisoners who have committed low-level infractions, calling the practice overused and potentially devastating.

In an op-ed in The Washington Post, Obama invoked the case of Kalief Browder, a young man who spent nearly two years in solitary confinement after he was thrown in jail in 2010 for allegedly stealing a backpack when he was 16.

"In 2013, Kalief was released, having never stood trial," Obama wrote. "He completed a successful semester at Bronx Community College. But life was a constant struggle to recover from the trauma of being locked up alone for 23 hours a day. One Saturday, he committed suicide at home. He was just 22 years old."

Though the ban applies only to federal prisons where, NPR's Carrie Johnson reports, few juveniles are held, the series of executive actions Obama laid out also includes more time for prisoners outside of their cells and better treatment for mentally ill prisoners. He said the changes will affect 10,000 prisoners.

Obama wrote that as many as 100,000 people are held in solitary confinement in federal, state and local jurisdictions, and said the practice — especially for juveniles and people with mental illness — has the "potential to lead to devastating, lasting psychological consequences."

The announcement regarding solitary confinement comes six months after Obama ordered the Justice Department to study how the practice was being used by the federal Bureau of Prisons. The DOJ's recommendations are here. The Justice Department says it's reduced the number of U.S. prisoners in solitary confinement by 25 percent since 2012.

The changes to solitary confinement protocol are only one of several bipartisan criminal justice reforms currently under consideration. Obama wrote:
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[1] URL: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/25/463891388/obama-announces-reforms-to-solitary-confinement-in-federal-prisons
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