26th September 2016
The Vera Institute of Justice today announced that it will be receiving a $2.2 million grant from the US Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance to help reduce the use of solitary confinement in prisons across the USA. It is estimated that on any one day roughly 100,000 prisoners in the US are in solitary confinement, many for months or years at a time, causing serious damage to their mental and physical health.
The funds will be used to maintain and expand the Institute's 'Safe Alternatives to Segregation Initiatives', which is currently working with five state and local correctional systems to assess existing solitary confinement practices and policies, recommend changes to help reduce the use of solitary confinement, and support the practical implementation of these recommendations.
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Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.