Did you know that Truthout is a nonprofit and independently funded by readers like you? If you value what we do, please support our work with a donation.
A class action lawsuit filed this week on behalf of former and current inmates is challenging the widespread use of solitary confinement by the Illinois Department of Corrections.
A total of about 2,300 state prison inmates — including about 15 percent of those housed in maximum security facilities — are kept in solitary confinement, often for relatively minor offenses, said Alan Mills, executive director of Uptown People’s Law Center, which filed the legal challenge with the law firm Winston & Strawn. Solitary confinement is generally defined as 22 to 24 hours of isolation a day and can last years, he said. The United Nations considers isolation lasting 15 days or longer to be torture.
“I don’t know anybody who spent more than a few months in solitary who doesn’t come out quite damaged,” Mills told the Reporter.
The suit is aimed at getting the state corrections department to implement the American Bar Association’s standards on segregation, which limit how long individuals are held in solitary confinement and recommend that people living with mental illness not be subjected to the punishment.
The Illinois Department of Corrections declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The Chicago Reporter is a non-profit investigative news organization that focuses on race, poverty and income inequality.
Trump is silencing political dissent. We appeal for your support.
Progressive nonprofits are the latest target caught in Trump’s crosshairs. With the aim of eliminating political opposition, Trump and his sycophants are working to curb government funding, constrain private foundations, and even cut tax-exempt status from organizations he dislikes.
We’re concerned, because Truthout is not immune to such bad-faith attacks.
We can only resist Trump’s attacks by cultivating a strong base of support. The right-wing mediasphere is funded comfortably by billionaire owners and venture capitalist philanthropists. At Truthout, we have you.
Truthout has launched a fundraiser to raise $34,000 in the next 5 days. Please take a meaningful action in the fight against authoritarianism: make a one-time or monthly donation to Truthout. If you have the means, please dig deep.