Advocacy Organizations Publish Report on Solitary Confinement in Arkansas Prisons

PRESS RELEASE

Zachary Crow

DecARcerate Director

PO Box 7708

Little Rock, AR 72217

(501) 367-7890

zachary@decarceratear.org

www.decarceratear.org

FOR DELAYED-RELEASE JANUARY 8, 2021

Advocacy Organizations Publish Report on Solitary Confinement in Arkansas Prisons

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Dec. 28, 2020)— On January 8, 2021, DecARcerate and Disability Rights Arkansas will release a new Special Report entitled “Solitary Confinement in Arkansas Prisons,”

The report investigates the experience and history of solitary confinement in Arkansas prisons pre-COVID-19 and offers evidence-based recommendations for humane, effective treatment of incarcerated people.

DecARcerate and Disability Rights Arkansas found that Arkansas has the highest rate of solitary confinement in the U.S, at nearly four times the national average. Despite the fact that ADC policy allows broad discretion in how ‘solitary’ may be used, 2,600-3,500 people are sent to solitary within Arkansas prisons each year. More than 90% of all solitary placements are for non-violent, minor offenses, and the Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC) disproportionately places Black people and Hispanic women in solitary at higher rates.

Furthermore, 73% of people in solitary have been there for at least 6 months, 42% for at least one year, and some more than 6 years. This does not include individuals on Death Row. ADC grossly underestimates the prevalence of serious mental illness (SMI), reporting that only 3% of the total ADC prison population has a serious mental illness. The U.S. Bureau of Justice reports that roughly 50% of people in state prisons report SMI symptoms, suggesting that people with SMI are not treated, are more likely to be disciplined with solitary, and are more likely to have worse mental health when they leave prison. Despite a national trend to reduce the use of solitary confinement, the report finds that the ADC has no strategic plan for reducing its use of the practice.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, prisons dramatically increased the estimated number of people held in solitary confinement each day from 60,000 to 300,000, making the issue of

solitary confinement more relevant than ever. “Solitary confinement is recognized as torture by the United Nations and reflects a larger punitive culture within Arkansas prisons. The fact that Arkansas uses solitary confinement so widely and frequently is unacceptable and deeply troubling. We must demand an end to this abusive practice," said Executive Director of DecARcerate, Zachary Crow. Tom Masseau, Executive Director of Disability Rights Arkansas, stated, "Solitary confinement is an archaic and grossly overused practice, one which is devastating in its effects on mental health. Its use should be ended immediately. It is shameful that Arkansas leads the nation in the use of solitary confinement. We call on the Arkansas Department of Corrections and policymakers to come together to enhance programs that emphasize rehabilitation in prison settings, and to ban outright the use of solitary confinement.”

About DecARcerate. DecARcerate is a nonprofit working to affirm human dignity by confronting unjust systems. They envision a world where equity, healing, and reconciliation replace systems of punishment and oppression. For more information on decARcerate, visit www.decarceratear.org.

About Disability Rights Arkansas (DRA). DRA is the independent, private, nonprofit organization designated by the Governor of Arkansas to implement the federally funded and authorized Protection and Advocacy systems throughout the state. For more information on DRA, visit disabilityrightsar.org.