Stop the abuse and ban solitary confinement in United States correctional facilities. Over 80,000 people on any one day are held in isolation in US prisons. That’s 22-24 hours a day confined to a cell for months, years or decades in conditions of severe social and physical isolation. Individuals in solitary confinement are deprived of all but the minimal amount of human contact, both within the prison and with those outside it. The harsh conditions are psychologically devastating. Numerous studies have even given the effects a name: “Special Housing Unit Syndrome” (SHU Syndrome).

Needless to say, people who are tortured or suffering from psychological duress do not experience a lot of rehabilitation in prison. Being isolated from other humans for prolonged periods of time does not teach them how to reintegrate into society. Solitary confinement is an unethical, costly form of torture that serves no true purpose in our society.