SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IN THE US PRISON SYSTEM
- Session: 2013-14
- Date tabled: 11.07.2013
- Primary sponsor:
- Sponsors:
That this House is shocked by the extensive and systematic use of solitary confinement in the US prison system; notes that on any given day, an estimated 80,000 prisoners in the US are confined in some form of isolation either in purpose-built super maximum security prisons or within smaller units inside prisons; further notes that studies have shown that prolonged and indefinite incarceration of prisoners in conditions of reduced sensory and environmental stimulation causes severe physical and psychological damage; is dismayed by the continued incarceration of the two remaining members of the Angola Three, Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox, who have been kept in solitary confinement in Louisiana for over 40 years and denied any meaningful review of the reasons for their isolation; further notes that the evidence against Mr Wallace and Mr Woodfox which resulted in their conviction for the murder of a prison guard remains highly contested; will follow closely the men's continuing legal appeals against the murder conviction and their civil case against Louisiana state claiming that their prolonged isolation constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, thereby violating the US constitution; and calls on the UK Government to raise this issue and the case of Mr Wallace and Mr Woodfox with the relevant US authorities.