Solitary Confinement: Torture in our prisons.

Bobbin is joined by Anthony Pickens (Paralegal/Legal Assistant, OJRC) and Ben Haile (Senior Counsel, Civil Rights Project, OJRC) to discuss solitary confinement in Oregon. Ben unpacks for us solitary confinement as a concept - what it is - and the many names solitary goes by (hint: ODOC’s tactics to hide their egregious practices). Ben reminds us that Oregon is violating international standards by placing people in solitary for up to 180 days; international law/standards on solitary codified as the Nelson Mandela Rules states that solitary should be restricted at 15 days. Anthony shares a powerful recounts his experience of solitary confinement as a formerly incarcerated person and shares what he observed in how ODOC implemented it in its prisons. He also details the psychological and physical harms of isolation and what tactics are required to survive it. Ben and Anthony highlight how solitary is counterproductive and makes prisons a more toxic environment and does not reduce, but increases behavioral issues. Finally, Ben talks about how solitary confinement is junk science and being implemented with no oversight or checks on its use.

The Trail Blazing Justice podcast is a production of the Oregon Justice Resource Center.