Solitary Confinement: Legal and Scientific Issues for Children and Young Adults
Scientific research continues to document the impact of solitary confinement on the developing brains of children and young adults. Such confinement can occasion irreversible, even fatal outcomes while producing no consistently positive effects on behavior. A growing number of correctional officers and administrators support discontinuing this practice, contributing to a marked increase in calls for reform.
Reviewing as an example the high-profile case of Kalief Browder, panelists will describe the implementation of solitary confinement across a variety of domestic and foreign jurisdictions, the worrisome phenomenon of transferring children and young adults from facilities that do not engage in solitary confinement to those that do, and current policy initiatives.
