Illinois lawmakers shouldn't leave solitary confinement policies alone

stock.adobe.com

No matter what it is called — solitary confinement, isolation, segregation, restrictive housing, the "hole" — the practice of placing an incarcerated person in a single, minuscule prison cell with little or no contact with other human beings is physically and mentally jarring, countless studies have found.

A new report that zeroed in on a 12-year period at Illinois prisons reached the same sobering conclusions, declaring that our state's use of solitary confinement violates international human rights laws, disproportionately affects Black people and is administered more than needed.

All it took was some marijuana smoking and a contact's number to show up on a contraband phone for Joseph Moore to end up in a tiny room by himself during his nearly three-decade stint in prison.

"It’s abject deprivation," as Moore, now a future leaders apprentice at the nonprofit Restore Justice, described his experience to Sun-Times reporter Kaitlin Washburn.

"... To leave someone in a room for days, weeks, months, years on end, that’s cruel and unusual."

Prisons are designed to punish people who break the law. They aren't expected to provide the same accommodations or services available at a scenic five-star hotel. But they also shouldn't be shrinking the brains of its inhabitants or catalyze suicidal thoughts and psychosis, which is what solitary confinement can do, according to the report by the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights.

Criminal justice reform will never be a reality if those behind bars are kept from being properly rehabilitated and former prisoners have trouble readjusting to "life on the outside" because of the lingering effects of being thrown into solitary confinement for a minor, non-violent infraction.

Whether eliminating cash bail and the implementation of other provisions in sweeping SAFE-T Act, Illinois prides itself in leading the way in rectifying inequitable policies tied to policing, pretrial detention and sentencing.

Our state lawmakers can keep moving forward by voting for the Isolated Confinement Restriction Act, a bill that mandates inmates not be placed in solitary confinement for more than 10 consecutive days in any 180-day period and grants them access to activities like classes, group therapy and meals in the dining hall when they are let out.

Under the proposed legislation, the Illinois Department of Corrections would also be required to post quarterly reports on the use of solitary confinement, which would generate much needed data on how often it is relied upon.

The health and wellness of inmates and staff were boosted when North Dakota reduced the number of solitary confinements in its prison, a 2021 case study showed.

Illinois shouldn't lock out the possibility of similar improvements of its own facilities and those who live and work there.

The Sun-Times welcomes letters to the editor and op-eds. See our guidelines.