Solitary confinement to be ended in Prisons by Biden

• The number of inmates being held in so-called restrictive housing has been climbing, data shows.
• The vast majority of inmates are segregated from the general population for safety or discipline reasons.
• Rep. David Trone: “It’s very unfortunate that the numbers have only moved the wrong way”.

Four months after President Joe Biden issued an executive order to overhaul the criminal justice system, promising that federal prisoners would be held in “safe and humane” confinement and “free from prolonged segregation,” the total number of inmates held in so-called restrictive housing has increased, according to new data.

According to federal Bureau of Prisons data analysed, 11,368 inmates were held in restrictive housing — also known as solitary confinement — as of Tuesday, a 7% increase from 10,607 inmates on May 28, the same week Biden signed his executive order. It’s also up more than 11% since the start of the Biden administration.

The number has steadily increased month after month, with the vast majority of inmates being held in special housing units, where they are separated from the general population for safety reasons or as a form of discipline. The federal government has over 142,000 inmates under its custody.

“It’s unfortunate that the numbers have only moved in the wrong direction,” said Rep. David Trone, D-Md., who signed a letter with 11 other Democratic members of Congress this week urging BOP Director Colette Peters to reduce the frequency and length of solitary confinement.

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The figures were revealed as Peters faced her first Senate hearing as the bureau’s director, having taken over for Michael Carvajal last month. Carvajal, a Trump administration holdover, resigned amid criticism of a crisis-plagued tenure marked by allegations of unsafe and unsanitary conditions in prisons, staff misconduct, and widespread staffing shortages.

During a hearing of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Thursday, the committee’s chairman, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., stated that solitary confinement may be necessary to ensure prison safety and security, but questioned how the BOP will address “abuse” of its application.

Peters, who previously oversaw Oregon’s prison system for a decade, stated that the issue is one of her top priorities.

“This is a complicated issue,” she explained. “This is one I’m still learning about at the bureau. But, senator, our values align on this issue.”

Durbin was one of the Democrats who wrote to Peters this week about restrictive housing, suggesting that it be used “for the briefest amount of time, and only in emergency circumstances for the purpose of de-escalation,” while also providing mental health treatment for those who are placed in it.

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