When campaigning for the presidential election in 2020, Joe Biden vowed to end solitary confinement across the nation. Now, over 2 years later and halfway through his term, there has not been any action taken to fulfill this promise.

You may be thinking, "why is this even important?" However, this is an extremely salient issue that is amassing over time. The 8th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that there may be “no cruel or unusual punishments.” Under this law, all forms of government torture are banned. Alarmingly, solitary confinement is not yet put under this category. A common misconception is that those in confinement are the worst of the worst. Many inmates are placed in solitary for minor infractions such as having extra food or talking back to a corrections officer. When locked in, the average prisoner is forced into a concrete 6-foot by 9-foot room with no light for 23 of the 24 hours a day. There is no mental stimulation which leads to extreme mental health problems, meaning that the suicide rate leaps up 129% from the average inmate in a regular prison. If released from incarceration, most are unable to function properly in society as a result of the devastating mental long-term effects. At any given time, 80,000 people are in solitary confinement in the United States, many of which are in for decades. Additionally, it is on average 2-3 times more expensive to hold one prisoner than in normal prison. There is no information that shows any positive outcome of this barbaric tactic which makes it even more reprehensible. 

By signing this petition, you will be taking one step forward to ensure that our president makes good on his promise to end solitary confinement, which will help to stop the violation of the basic rights of thousands of Americans.