In January 2018, Canada took important steps regarding the overuse of segregation, also known as solitary confinement, when the courts decided on two separate court cases. One legal challenge from the Ontario government will no longer place people with mental
Legislation and Litigation
Featured Resources
All Resources
Legal settlement ends Colorado’s practice of denying inmates fresh air
This news article details a class action settlement in Colorado granting incarcerated people in segregation access to the outdoors.
New Mexico HB 364 Corrections Restricted Housing Act
This new law bans the use of restricted housing for juveniles and people with serious mental illness and creates a quarterly reporting system for the state corrections department and county jails.
Disability Rights Montana v. Batista
A federal appeals court ruled in favor of a Montana prisoner rights complaint alleging that Montana State Prison fails to provide adequate mental health care, puts prisoners in conditions that mimic solitary confinement, and exacerbates mental health problems.
Montana HB763
This 2019 Montana law creates requirements for the use of restrictive housing in adult and youth facilities, such as barring its use for pregnant or postpartum people and requiring step-down programs for individuals in segregation for more than 30 days.
NJ A314 Isolated Confinement Restriction Act
This 2019 New Jersey law limits the long-term use of “isolated confinement” and prohibits its use for vulnerable populations such as youth, older people, those with disabilities, pregnant or postpartum people, and the LGBTI population.
Minnesota HF 493/SF 1911
This Minnesota law is the first guidelines on the books specifically regarding segregation in the state.
Thorpe, et al. v. Virginia Department of Corrections, et al.
Thorpe et al. v. Virginia Department of Corrections et al. (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania 2019). This class-action lawsuit seeks to end the practice of solitary confinement in two Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) prisons.
Liberals Unveil Bill to End Solitary Confinement in Federal Prisons
The Canadian Liberal Party has introduced a bill that would end the Correctional Service of Canada’s use of solitary confinement.
The Most Restrictive Alternative: A Litigation History of Solitary Confinement in U.S. Prisons, 1972-2009
This article analyzes the role of federally incarcerated people’s rights litigation in the 1960s and 1970s in shaping the prisons, especially maximum-security prisons, in the 1980s and 1990s.
Examining the Role of Healthcare Professionals in the Use of Solitary Confinement
Prison healthcare professionals work in a unique clinical environment designed to punish rather than to heal. Amid global calls for penal reform, healthcare professionals have an ethical responsibility to speak out about correctional practices that endanger health and human rights.