President Obama Issues New Prison Reform Executive Actions (VIDEO)

President Obama Tackles Solitary Confinement In Prison Reform Push

Prison reform is an opportunity for second chances and increasing the public good. That’s what President Barack Obama argued in an op-ed published earlier this week in the Washington Post. Obama announced a series of executive actions that will limit the use of solitary confinement including a ban on solitary confinement for juveniles. The ban will also reduce the amount of time a prisoner can remain in solitary from a year to sixty days. The changes follow concerns over the psychological damage associated with the widespread use of solitary confinement in the U.S.

This is another step in a much wider fight by the administration for significant prison reform. Back in July, President Obama became the first sitting Commander-in-Chief to visit a federal prison. As part of his push to reform the criminal justice system, he met with inmates at the El Reno federal prison near Oklahoma City, a visit that was filmed for a Vice special on HBO. At the time, the President emphasized the importance of not too severely punishing those who have made mistakes, such as non-violent drug offenders, and offering them a second chance through programs inside and outside of prison.

Solitary confinement is often associated with punishment, but prisoners can find themselves isolated for a variety of reasons including their own protection. This may be the case for LGBT inmates, disabled prisoners or those under threat from a gang. Protective custody is a non-punitive status but the Federal Bureau of Prisons: Special Housing Unit Review and Assessment indicates that these prisoners experience much the same treatment as those who are isolated for disciplinary reasons.

In his op-ed, President Obama focused on the case of Kalief Browder, a young man who committed suicide after being held for three years while awaiting trial, nearly two of those years spent in solitary confinement. Prior to his suicide, he was released without even facing trial.

Throughout his campaign for prison reform, President Obama has been very specific about the types of criminals that he is talking about. After meeting inmates in El Reno he emphasized that they were not violent criminals,

“These are young people who made mistakes that aren’t that different than the mistakes I made and the mistakes that a lot of you guys made.” 

In the United States, reform is needed for all prisoners, not just those deemed worthy of second chances. One of the major hurdles to across-the-board progressive prison reforms is the for-profit prison system. A system that has no incentive to reduce recidivism rates and every reason to keep costs down by reducing prisoner programs and access to fully qualified staff.

For now these executive actions will have to suffice, but it is important not to forget that they only affect federal prisoners — not the majority of the nation’s prisoners housed in state facilities.

Featured image via YouTube.

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