On Tuesday, March 12, 2013, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) held a thematic hearing on the use of solitary confinement in the Americas. CCR submitted a written testimony before the IACHR reflecting on the use of solitary in U.S. prisons.
An excerpt appears below:
CCR has a long history of challenging the use of isolation in U.S. prisons, and firmly believes that all people are entitled to dignity, safety, and humane treatment, irrespective of whether and where they are incarcerated. The use of solitary confinement across the U.S. is an assault on these basic human rights principles, and has drawn widespread criticism both domestically and internationally.
...In this testimony, we will address some of the human rights and U.S. Constitutional implications of solitary confinement, and this kind of prolonged solitary confinement in particular. We sincerely hope that this hearing will result in the fundamental reassessment of the widespread use of solitary confinement in the U.S., and serve as a catalyst to end the brutalizing use of isolation for unconscionable periods of time in U.S. prisons, jails, and detention centers.
