WASHINGTON - Yesterday, President Obama announced that U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and the Department of Justice, in response to the President’s directive in July, has issued a report concerning the use of solitary confinement in America. The report includes recommended strategies for prisons at the federal, state, and local levels to pursue, safely reduce solitary confinement, and details changes that the federal Bureau of Prisons will undertake. The President also stated that he will adopt the recommendations in the report, and will direct all related federal agencies to review the findings and develop a plan to address their use of solitary confinement.
In response to the announcement, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) released the following statements:
In response to the announcement, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) released the following statements:
Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives John Conyers, Jr. |
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee: “The President’s action is a major and crucial step that will save lives of young juveniles. Solitary confinement is inhumane and can be especially destructive to children locked up in an already harsh system. Juveniles should be in a system that is rehabilitative, not life ending."
“That is why Ranking Member Conyers and I introduced a package of youth incarceration reform bills, including Kalief’s Law (H.R. 3155), a measure named in honor of a young man who tragically took his own life after spending two years in solitary at Riker’s Island without ever receiving a trial. Among other things, this bill would help avoid the loss of more young lives by banning solitary confinement for those 21 and under. "
“The President’s action is important and comes on the heels of the Supreme Court’s much needed action to grant relief to juveniles serving sentences of life without parole. But it is even more important that Congress codify both of these just and humane steps for all young people, not just juveniles. Our children deserve nothing less. I am committed to making this a reality through our bipartisan criminal justice reform initiative, a key component of which will be comprehensive young justice reform legislation.”
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