OBAMA: Ban on Solitary Confinement for Juveniles

The effects of solitary are hard to overstate. Experts say it can have catastrophic psychological effects, particularly on younger people or those with mental health issues. “The level of suffering and despair in many of these [solitary confinement] units is palpable and profound,” Craig Haney, a psychology professor at the University of California Santa Cruz who has studied the impact of incarceration, told the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2012.

Obama tweeted:

"Six  years ago, a 16-year-old named Kalief Browder from the Bronx was accused of stealing a backpack. He was sent to Rikers Island to await trial, where he reportedly endured unspeakable violence at the hands of inmates and guards - and spent nearly two years in solitary confinement in 2013. Kalief was released, having never stood trial. One Saturday, he committed suicide.

Too often, solitary confinement is overused on people like Kalief. As many as 100,000 people in America..."