SOLITARY CONFINEMENT’S DEVASTATING HARM ON PRISONERS CAGED IN WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES January 2017 CAGED IN At America’s Expense: SOLITARYThe Mass Incarceration CONFINEMENT’S of the Elderly DEVASTATING HARM ON PRISONERS WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES ©June 2017 2012 ACLU Foundation American Civil Liberties Union 125 Broad Street New York, NY 10004 www.aclu.org Cover image credit: Tim Gruber Written by: Jamelia Morgan Cover image: Andrew Lichtenstein CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................................................................... 4 I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................................10 A. Why We Must Act Now.............................................................................................................................13 1. Disabilities Are Common in Prisons and Jails.......................................................................................13 2. Heightened Vulnerabilities..................................................................................................................13 B. Why It Can Get Worse..............................................................................................................................14 1. Crowded Prisons ................................................................................................................................14 2. Aging Prisoners..................................................................................................................................15 C. Scope of the Report and Definitions..........................................................................................................16 D. Methodology...........................................................................................................................................17 E. A Note on Language................................................................................................................................18 II. SPOTLIGHT ON TARGET JURISDICTIONS...............................................................................................................19 A. Population Data......................................................................................................................................20 B. Limited Data on Complaints Filed by Prisoners With Physical Disabilities..................................................21 III. SOLITARY CONFINEMENT HARMS PRISONERS WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES............................................................. 24 A. Psychological Harm.................................................................................................................................24 B. Physical Harms.......................................................................................................................................26 1. Architectural Barriers in Facilities.......................................................................................................28 2. Self-Care............................................................................................................................................29 3. Disrupted Medical Therapies...............................................................................................................30 4. Limited to No Physical Activity.............................................................................................................30 5. Physical Therapy.................................................................................................................................31 C. Rehabilitative Harms...............................................................................................................................32 D. Solitary Confinement Inflicts Acute Harms on Prisoners With Sensory Disabilities.....................................32 1. Deaf and Hard of Hearing Prisoners.....................................................................................................32 2. Blind and Low Vision Prisoners...........................................................................................................35 3. Communication Barriers.....................................................................................................................35 IV. FAILURES TO PROVIDE ACCOMMODATIONS AND ASSISTIVE DEVICES......................................................................... 37 V. HOW PRISONERS WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES END UP IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT................................................... 40 A. What We Know About Prisoners With Physical Disabilities in Solitary Confinement.....................................40 B. How Do Prisoners With Physical Disabilities End Up in Solitary Confinement?............................................41 1. Administrative Segregation.................................................................................................................41 2. Protective Custody..............................................................................................................................41 3. Medical Isolation.................................................................................................................................42 4. Disciplinary or Punitive Segregation....................................................................................................42 5. Placements Into Solitary Confinement Due to Lack of Accessible Housing.............................................45 6. Trapped in Solitary..............................................................................................................................46 VI. LEGAL PROTECTIONS FOR PRISONERS WITH DISABILITIES IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT................................................ 47 A. International Law....................................................................................................................................47 1. UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.....................................................................47 2. Nelson Mandela Rules........................................................................................................................47 B. Constitutional Protections: The Eighth Amendment..................................................................................48 C. The Americans with Disabilities Act..........................................................................................................49 1. Reasonable Accommodations..............................................................................................................49 2. Effective Communications...................................................................................................................50 3. Limits to the ADA................................................................................................................................50 D. Prison Litigation Reform Act....................................................................................................................51 E. Protection & Advocacy Monitoring and Oversight......................................................................................51 F. State Law................................................................................................................................................51 VII. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ENDING SOLITARY CONFINEMENT OF PRISONERS WITH DISABILITIES.................................... 52 A. Recommended Action..............................................................................................................................53 1. Correctional Systems..........................................................................................................................53 2. Federal...............................................................................................................................................54 3. State and Local...................................................................................................................................55 B. Model Policies and Procedures................................................................................................................55 1. General Principles..............................................................................................................................55 2. General Principles Regarding Incarcerated Persons With Physical Disabilities.......................................56 3. Process Prior to Placement.................................................................................................................56 4. Disciplinary Segregation.....................................................................................................................57 5. Protective Custody..............................................................................................................................57 6. Conditions..........................................................................................................................................57 VIII. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................................................................59 IX. APPENDICES..................................................................................................................................................60