Washington Prisons End Disciplinary Solitary Confinement

Seattle WA

01 October, 2021

8:13 PM

Description

WASHINGTON — Washington state prisons are no longer using solitary confinement as a punishment, after finding that "disciplinary segregation" failed to function as "an effective sanction or deterrent to negative behavior" and was applied most often for non-violent offenses. According to the state Department of Corrections, the agency collected data between September 2019 and August 2020, which found: The department issued approximately 2,500 disciplinary segregation sanctions during the year.57% of those sanctions were for non-violent infractions.The average length of time given in segregation was 11 days for non-violent infractions and 16 days for violent ones.The number of actual segregation days individuals served after a disciplinary hearing was small. Most individuals who were given segregation had already been in Administrative Segregation awaiting their hearing and were given credit for time served and returned to general population. More than a year later, the DOC formally ended the practice across its prisons on Sept. 16, calling the move a historic moment in a news release Thursday. "This is definitely a key step in becoming a human centered organization by advancing proven correctional practices and methods that support individuals in change," said Cheryl Strange, the DOC Secretary. "The science is clear on this and the science says stop doing this." DOC officials said the agency will continue to examine its detention practices, with plans to further limit the use of "restrictive housing." "We know a lot more now than we did years ago when our practices were designed," said Mike Obenland, the state's Assistant Secretary of Prisons. "We must continue to examine our processes and make meaningful changes that are both safe and humane." Solitary confinement will still be utilized for certain non-disciplinary reasons, DOC officials said, including for investigations, safety, or protective custody. As inmates and advocates have decried since the pandemic began, prisons have also resorted to solitary confinement to isolate inmates who fall ill with COVID-19, which they argue is inhumane and ineffective.