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Ohio Using Solitary Confinement Too Often For Too Long, Says Two Advocacy Groups

Foreverdigital

A report from two advocacy groups says Ohio prisons are using solitary confinement too often, and that it doesn’t help inmates who will eventually be released or help make prisons safer. And the groups are pushing the state to make changes.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and Disability Rights Ohio say that nearly 3000 inmates are confined alone in cells the size of parking places, and a quarter of them are mentally ill. The ACLU’s Adrienne Gavula notes the state’s juvenile lockups have reduced solitary confinement by 80% in a deal with the federal justice department. “Consequently, violence decreased. And that’s what you see in the adult side too," Gavula said. "And it’s counter-intuitive what people think, but it’s actually what happens.”

The state prisons department disputes the report’s figures, and says only those who pose a clear and direct threat are placed in restricted housing, and that it’s cut back the number of people in solitary confinement and the length of stays.

This will be a topic to be discussed on "The State of Ohio" this week. You can watch it through the menu above.

You can read the report here.

Contact Karen at 614-578-6375 or at kkasler@statehousenews.org.