HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle

"For Their Own Protection": Children in Long-Term Solitary Confinement

Views: 982
Go to http://reason.com/reasontv/2013/09/26/for-their-own-protection for links to resources mentioned below and more information and videos.

"Why lock somebody up while you're locked up? You're trying to kill their spirit even more," says Michael Kemp, describing his six-month stay in solitary confinement at age 17.

Solitary confinement was once a punishment reserved for the most-hardened, incorrigible criminals. Today, it is standard practice for tens of thousands of juveniles in prisons and jails across America. Far from being limited to the most violent offenders, solitary confinement is now used against perpetrators of minor crimes and children who are forced to await their trials in total isolation. Often, these stays are prolonged, lasting months or even years at a time.

Widely condemned as cruel and unusual punishment, long-term isolation for juveniles continues because it's effectively hidden from the public. Research efforts by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition have struggled to uncover even the most basic facts about how the United States punishes its most vulnerable inmates.

How can a practice be both widespread and hidden? State and federal governments have two effective ways to prevent the public from knowing how deep the problem goes.

The first has to do with the way prisons operate. Sealed off from most public scrutiny, and steeped in an insular culture of unaccountability, prisons are, by their very nature, excellent places to keep secrets. Even more concealed are the solitary-confinement cells, described by inmates as "prisons within prisons." With loose record-keeping and different standards used by different states, it's almost impossible to gather reliable nation-wide statistics.

The second method is to give the old, horrific punishment a new, unobjectionable name. Make the torture sound friendly, with fewer syllables and pleasant language. This way, even when abuse is discovered, it appears well-intentioned and humane.

So American prisons rarely punish children with prolonged solitary confinement. Instead, they administer seclusion and protective custody. Prison authorities don't have to admit that "administrative segregation" is used to discipline children. Just the opposite, actually. It's all being done "for their own protection."

Seclusion? Protecting children? Who could argue with that?

For starters, there is Juan Mendez, the United Nations special rapporteur on torture. Americans are accustomed to the U.N. investigating incidents of prisoner abuse in other countries -- which Mendez has done in faraway places like Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. But increasingly, his inquiries are focused on American prisons.

Mendez spoke publicly about Bradley Manning's deplorable treatment in solitary confinement. Now he is calling on the United States to ban isolation for minors, which he considers, "cruel, unusual, and degrading punishment." It's a recommendation he shares with the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology.

The ACLU report, Growing Up Locked Down, is one of the few detailed, comprehensive examinations available. This devastating and detailed look at solitary confinement for minors has led to this online petition that will be presented to Attorney General Eric Holder in October 2013.

Because the prison system is so opaque, reform has been slow in coming. A congressional hearing on solitary confinement, chaired by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) last year, heard testimony from mental health experts, questioned the director of federal prisons, and brought a replica of a solitary confinement cell onto the Senate floor. In recent years, seven states -- Maine, Connecticut, West Virginia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Alaska -- have enacted laws to restrict the use of punitive isolation on young people. As awareness of the magnitude of the problem grows, more reforms are likely to follow.

If we believe that juveniles are inherently less responsible for their actions than adults - and more susceptible to rehabilitation - then it follows that their punishments should be less severe.

Given the severity of the punishment, prohibiting solitary confinement for young people is a first step. The greatest challenge remains demanding greater transparency from a prison system that wields total control over its most vulnerable inmates.

Runs about 13:15 minutes.

Produced, shot, and edited by Todd Krainin.

Still photography of juvenile inmates by Steve Liss. Incidental music by ERH at Freesound.

Go to http://reason.com/reasontv/2013/09/26/for-their-own-protection for links to resources mentoned above, downloadable versions, and more videos.

Subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive notification when new material goes live.
@ReasonVidsfollow
Thumbnail for Remy: Obamacare Video Contest Song1:31
Remy: Obamacare Video Contest Song
ReasonVids
821 views
Thumbnail for Obamacare Launch Eroding Faith in Government as Problem Solver: Reason-Rupe Poll December 20134:34
Obamacare Launch Eroding Faith in Government as Problem Solver: Reason-Rupe Poll December 2013
ReasonVids
915 views
Thumbnail for The Tragedy of Detroit: "It Didn't Have to Be This Way"5:37
The Tragedy of Detroit: "It Didn't Have to Be This Way"
ReasonVids
898 views
Thumbnail for Adolf Hitler "the most precious possession [...] are it's people"1:03
Adolf Hitler "the most precious possession [...] are it's people"
NachtWaffen
1939 views
Thumbnail for LSD Microdosing: The New Silicon Valley Productivity Hack6:29
LSD Microdosing: The New Silicon Valley Productivity Hack
ReasonVids
919 views
Thumbnail for They are claiming a plane has crashed in Philadelphia. But does this look like a plane crash to you?0:14
They are claiming a plane has crashed in Philadelphia. But does this look like a plane crash to you?
bestofupgoat
73 views
Thumbnail for Rebuilding Men From Mediocrity | Live From The Lair27:42
Rebuilding Men From Mediocrity | Live From The Lair
Terrence Popp
698 views
Thumbnail for EVERYTHING | Award Winning Short Film (2016)15:52
EVERYTHING | Award Winning Short Film (2016)
IJvids
817 views
Thumbnail for Ultra Instinct Goku - Survival Session (Part 1) - M.U.G.E.N.7:27
Ultra Instinct Goku - Survival Session (Part 1) - M.U.G.E.N.
memology101
1305 views
Thumbnail for major change0:14
major change
AOUisgay
412 views
Thumbnail for Florida Man Could Lose His Home For Having Long Grass1:22
Florida Man Could Lose His Home For Having Long Grass
IJvids
900 views
Thumbnail for Atlas Shrugged: Part II Greenlighted, In Theaters Next Fall3:40
Atlas Shrugged: Part II Greenlighted, In Theaters Next Fall
ReasonVids
953 views
Thumbnail for Rope magic0:58
Rope magic
AOUisgay
491 views
Thumbnail for What Happened to Kids in Cages? | Grunt Speak Highlights5:22
What Happened to Kids in Cages? | Grunt Speak Highlights
Terrence Popp
1394 views
Thumbnail for How to Grow a City in Honduras, Part IV: Citizens as Shareholders4:37
How to Grow a City in Honduras, Part IV: Citizens as Shareholders
ReasonVids
925 views
Thumbnail for Get the fuck out! Covid pigs at a restaurant in Vancouver.3:53
Get the fuck out! Covid pigs at a restaurant in Vancouver.
bestofpoal
1486 views
Thumbnail for Just a nigger thing0:34
Just a nigger thing
AOU
1389 views
Thumbnail for President Obama Wants Higher Energy Prices0:44
President Obama Wants Higher Energy Prices
bestofvoatxyz
966 views
Thumbnail for 川普关税没来 人民币汇率怎么走 习近平怎么看?/民权组织诉川普取消出生公民权违宪/习近平和普京通话/王剑每日观察/20250121 | 王剑每日观察Kim's Observation55:44
川普关税没来 人民币汇率怎么走 习近平怎么看?/民权组织诉川普取消出生公民权违宪/习近平和普京通话/王剑每日观察/20250121 | 王剑每日观察Kim's Observation
invidious
77 views
Thumbnail for Florida: Open for Business?0:57
Florida: Open for Business?
IJvids
813 views
Thumbnail for Resolved: 15 Million Americans Would Be Better Off Without Welfare1:24:52
Resolved: 15 Million Americans Would Be Better Off Without Welfare
ReasonVids
711 views
Thumbnail for Why the Lights Are Still Off in Puerto Rico4:51
Why the Lights Are Still Off in Puerto Rico
ReasonVids
823 views
Thumbnail for How the U.S. Covered Up the Murder of Journalist Jamal Khashoggi19:09
How the U.S. Covered Up the Murder of Journalist Jamal Khashoggi
ReasonVids
938 views

points

Permalink
Reply
juvenile justice, prison, jail, solitary confinement, administrative segregation, protective custody, juan mendez, torture (crime type), grace bauer, reason (periodical), michael kemp, andrea weisman, criminal justice (field of study), criminal code (literature subject), todd krainin, aclu, libertarianism (school of thought), inmate, rape (crime type), american civil liberties union (organization), reasontv
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle