Clinic signs-on to a letter to the U.S. Department of State, asking the United States to examine the practice of solitary confinement in prisons

Last week, the clinic signed-on to a letter drafted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which asked the U.S. Department of State to invite Professor Juan Méndez, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, to conduct a fact-finding mission to examine the use of solitary confinement in detention facilities in the United States. Last year, the U.S.pledged to support the work of the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture and in 2009, the U.S. revealed its commitment to cooperating with U.N. human rights mechanisms. However, Professor Méndez’s request to visit the U.S. and examine the use of solitary confinement has been repeatedly ignored.

As the letter states, “on any given day over 80,000 people are held in solitary confinement in U.S. prisons and jails, over 25,000 of whom are held in so-called “supermax” prisons specifically designed for long-term solitary confinement. Particularly vulnerable groups are routinely subjected to solitary confinement: persons with mental disabilities are dramatically overrepresented in solitary confinement; children are subjected to solitary confinement in juvenile facilities, as well as in jails and prisons that otherwise house adults; and other vulnerable groups, including LGBTI prisoners and immigration detainees, are also commonly placed in solitary confinement.”

We hope this letter will urge to U.S. to extend an invitation to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture and will encourage greater transparency and accountability regarding the human rights record of the U.S.  The coalition letter can be downloaded here.