PA Bills Push For Ending Solitary Confinement

HARRISBURG, PA —Solitary confinement could come to an end in Pennsylvania if a state Senate bill becomes law.

Sen. Katie Muth, who represents parts of Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties, and Sen. John Kane of Chester County, have introduced a measure that would halt the practice in the state. In a
recent memo to colleagues, the pair wrote that studies have shown that the use of solitary confinement is "inhumane and counterproductive."

"It is long past time we ban this cruel and inhumane practice and promote evidence-based, common sense reforms that support rehabilitation for Pennsylvanians in need of help," the memo stated.

Muth and Kane contend that solitary confinement can cause psychological and emotional harm, trauma, depression, anxiety, and an increased risk of self-harm. Studies seem to bear that out.

Stuart Grassian, a board-certified psychiatrist and a former faculty member at Harvard Medical
School, interviewed hundreds of people in solitary confinement. In one study, he found that about a third of those in solitary were “actively psychotic and/or acutely suicidal.”

The bill also would eliminate solitary confinement for juveniles. Muth and Kane quoted from a 2016 report by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention that almost half of juvenile detention facilities and training schools reported that they isolate youths for more than four hours to control unruly behavior.

"Juveniles need development and deserve safety, regardless of their criminal history," the two senators wrote. "When held in solitary confinement, adolescents are often denied access to treatment and programming to meet their developmental and rehabilitative needs."

A similar measure in the House would ban solitary confinement for:

• pregnant or postpartum women.
• women who have recently suffered a miscarriage or terminated a pregnancy.
• LGBTQ individuals.
• inmates with certain mental, intellectual, or developmental disabilities.
• inmates 21 and younger or 55 and older.

The House bill would also prohibit the use of restraint chairs, chemical agents, and shackles, as well as cap the use of solitary confinement for all inmates at 15 days.

"Solitary confinement is a cruel and unjust form of discipline which can perpetrate untold violence on an inmate’s psychological and emotional health,” said state Rep. Tina Davis of Bucks County, who co-sponsored the bill along with Rep. Donna Bullock of Philadelphia. “Let’s get this straight: our inmates are in our correctional system to be rehabilitated, not be subjected to torture."