Why Long-Term Solitary Confinement Must Be Reformed
1. SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IS TORTURE
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In Rhode Island’s restrictive housing units—commonly known as solitary confinement—incarcerated people are often confined in 8-by-10-foot cells for 22 to 24 hours a day, sometimes for months or even years. The United Nations has condemned such prolonged isolation as “cruel,” “inhumane,” and equivalent to torture.”
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Extensive research links time spent in solitary confinement to higher mortality rates after release and to severe physical and mental health deterioration. In Rhode Island, individuals can be placed in solitary for minor infractions such as “disobedience” or substance use—behaviors that should be addressed through treatment, rehabilitation, and supportive programming, not isolation.
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Even RIDOC Director Patricia Coyne-Fague has acknowledged that, when it comes to modern correctional practices, “keeping people in cells 23 hours a day is not the way to go.”
Yet despite this recognition, RIDOC continues to subject individuals to prolonged isolation, a practice proven to be harmful, counterproductive, and inconsistent with contemporary correctional standards.
Solitary confinement causes severe damage to both body and mind, with particularly devastating effects on people living with Severe and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI).
In its 2017 Final Report, the Rhode Island Solitary Confinement Study Commission recognized these harms, and the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC) pledged to exclude individuals with SPMI from restrictive housing, acknowledging the extreme psychological dangers of isolation.
Yet, despite this commitment, long-term solitary confinement continues to inflict serious mental health deterioration—including intensified anxiety, obsessive thinking, depression, anger, and violent thoughts.
In 2019, Disability Rights Rhode Island filed a lawsuit against RIDOC, asserting that individuals with SPMI remain confined in isolation instead of receiving the treatment and rehabilitation they are entitled to. That lawsuit is still ongoing.
“Have you ever been in DCU [Disciplinary Confinement Unit]? Locked up 23 [hours] and [out of your cell for] 1?
"Locked down with no showers, only chow food... only certain things in your cell, deprived of sunlight and blocked off from the outside? Let me tell you, it does some things to your mind. It brings trauma, PTSD, and it’s so bad you start talking to roaches and mice. Seeing things you don’t normally see. It’s mentally/physically bad and some people are stuck from 30 days, where I’ve seen the most, 3 years.
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"Can you imagine that? Hell no you can’t.
So please fix the inhumane things they are doing to us."
Jalil Nelson, Maximum Security
2. SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IS NOT EFFECTIVE
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Many correctional administrators argue that solitary confinement is essential for maintaining prison safety. However, extensive research shows the opposite—long-term isolation actually increases violence within prisons and in surrounding communities.
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Solitary confinement is also an enormous financial burden on Rhode Island taxpayers. RIDOC’s “High Side” supermax facility—where many individuals are held in long-term isolation—is the Department’s most expensive unit, costing approximately $216,000 per person per year, compared to $94,000 per person in Maximum Security during FY 2021. The facility is nearly twice as costly as a comparable facility in Massachusetts.
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Meanwhile, other states across the country have reduced or eliminated the use of long-term solitary confinement—improving safety while saving millions of dollars. Over the last five years, 18 states have passed legislation reforming solitary confinement, proving that safer and more humane alternatives work.
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Massachusetts: The Hampden County Correctional Center reduced its reliance on restrictive housing and reported no increase in assaults and a better working environment for staff.
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Virginia: After the Department of Corrections reduced its highest-custody population by 68% and reformed segregation practices, incident reports fell by 78%, inmate grievances by 91%, and informal complaints by 86%.
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Mississippi: The state closed its sole supermax facility, moving 1,000 people out of long-term solitary. The change saved $6 million annually and led to a 70% reduction in serious disciplinary incidents, use of force, and recidivism.
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Colorado: After closing one supermax prison and eliminating long-term solitary confinement, the DOC saw no increase in assaults and launched a successful 12-week gang disengagement program.
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Maine: Step-down programs reduced the solitary population and lowered overall prison violence.
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Oregon: Despite initial skepticism, reforms led to a noticeable decrease in assaults on staff and other incarcerated people.
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North Dakota: After limiting solitary confinement in its five adult facilities, the state saw reduced use of force and no rise in staff or prisoner violence.
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South Dakota: Restrictive housing reforms resulted in a significant drop in violent incidents.
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Washington State: Cognitive-behavioral and skill-building programs in restrictive housing units achieved an 80% success rate in reducing recidivism, along with fewer staff uses of force and less violence overall.
It's time for Rhode Island to follow these other states and pass the Reform Solitary Confinement Act