Children in Solitary: Solitary Watch: A (HIDDEN) NIGHTMARE

 

Known as „klondike“ or „the hole“, this subterranean holding cell was the most severe form of solitary confinement. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

http://solitarywatch.com/2012/05/03/children-in-solitary/

Children in Solitary by Jean Casella and James Ridgeway

This week, the The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry released a policy statement condemning the use of solitary confinement for juveniles. There is no comprehensive data on how many teens and even younger children are in solitary confinement in the United States, but it is safe to say that the number run into the thousands. Juveniles in adult prison often end up in solitary confinement, and isolation is widely used in juvenile facilities as well.

On the ACLU „Blog of Rights“ today, David Fathi, Director of the ACLU’s National Prison Project puts the statement in context:

As any parent knows, teenagers are different than adults. This common-sense observation is backed by hard scientific evidence; we know that an adolescent’s brain continues to grow and develop well into his or her twenties. The fact that teenagers’ brains are still developing makes them especially vulnerable to trauma of all kinds, including the trauma of social isolation and sensory deprivation.

That’s why the leading American child psychiatry association just approved a policy statement opposing the use of solitary confinement in correctional facilities for juveniles. The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry represents over 7,500 child and adolescent psychiatrists and other interested physicians….PLEASE; READ MORE THERE AND SIGN THE PETITION!

Related articles

• Too young to shave, but old enough for solitary (justcrim.typepad.com)
• New Ban on Solitary Confinement for Child Prisoners in Mississippi (moorbey.wordpress.com)
• Inmates in Solitary Confinement in California Respond to Prison Policy Reforms (moorbey.wordpress.com)
• ‚Barefoot Bandit‘ out of Solitary Confinement (abcnews.go.com)