OPINION: Finding alternatives to solitary confinement
The practice goes by many names: Restrictive housing, administrative segregation, secure housing, lockdown or, more informally, being put into “the hole.” Most people would recognize it as “solitary confinement” — placing prisoners alone in small cells with little or no human contact 22 or more hours every day.
Does simply being alone and confined to a small space constitute torture? The answer is yes, according to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan Méndez.
“Considering the severe mental pain or suffering solitary confinement may cause, it can amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment when used as a punishment … for a prolonged period [or] for persons with mental disabilities or juveniles,” he said in a 2011 report.