NAMI supports Obama’s limitation of solitary confinement in federal prisons

The National Alliance on Mental Illness recently expressed support for President Barack Obama’s efforts to curb the use of solitary confinement in federal prisons.

Obama ordered a ban on the use of solitary confinement for juveniles and enacted severe limitations on its use for individuals with serious mental illness.

Sixty percent of individuals in solitary confinement have undiagnosed or untreated serious mental illness, according to an audit of facilities conducted by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Mary Giliberti

“It is well documented in research that long-term segregation in prisons has devastating emotional consequences for all individuals,” Mary Giliberti, JD, executive director of NAMI, said in a press release. “For individuals with pre-existing serious mental illness, it is akin to torture, a surefire way to worsen symptoms and decrease the opportunity of successful reentry into society.”

Federal guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Justice in conjunction with Obama’s actions state that individuals with serious mental illness should not be placed in restrictive housing. The placement of these individuals in restrictive housing should occur only when “individuals present such an immediate and serious danger that there is no reasonable alternative … or a qualified mental health practitioner determines that such placement is not contraindicated,” according to the guidelines.

The guidelines also state that inmates with serious mental illness who are put in solitary confinement should be removed within 30 days and should receive “intensive, clinically appropriate mental health treatment for the entirety of placement in restrictive housing.”

Progress has already begun to occur at the state level, according to the release. Colorado, Oregon and Illinois have limited use of solitary confinement on inmates with serious mental illness.

“President Obama's statement and orders represent an important step forward in establishing more humane alternatives to the use of solitary confinement in the federal prison system," Giliberti said in the release. “We hope that all states will follow his lead and take similar steps to eliminate these draconian practices, particularly with juveniles and individuals with serious mental illness. We also call on federal and state officials to focus on diverting people of all ages with serious mental illnesses from the criminal justice system in the first place.”