Guest Opinion | Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater: Solitary Confinement is Torture

California is often hailed as one of the most progressive states in the union. Its leaders and lawmakers are unafraid to champion important issues, from climate change to same-sex marriage. Yet many people are unaware of how behind California is on human rights issues related to mass incarceration in general, and the use of solitary confinement in particular. 

The issue of California’s barbaric use of solitary confinement rose to national prominence in 2011 and 2013 as a result of incarcerated individuals who launched historic hunger strikes to protest isolated confinement that are considered a form of torture by other developed countries, mental health professionals and even the United Nations. Following these hunger strikes, a class action lawsuit resulted in what is known as the Ashker settlement.

Now, almost a decade later, California is poised to become a national leader on this issue with AB 280, the California Mandela Act. The Mandela Act would limit solitary confinement to 15 days, and ban the practice for vulnerable populations including pregnant people and those with disabilities. Unfortunately Governor Gavin Newsom decided to veto this important piece of legislation in 2022, claiming that the issue was “ripe for reform” but instead opting to pursue regulations by California prisons, and ignoring the problem of county jails and private detention facilities. 

In 2023, Asm. Chris Holden reintroduced this bill and has made amendments designed to ensure the bill protects everyone inside these facilities, while setting clear limits to the use of solitary confinement. 

Solitary confinement stands as one of the most important human rights issues of our time. It is both widespread, yet invisible. It is a silent killer that pervades so many penal institutions throughout the world. While we are quick to associate physical harm with torture, it is now just as well established how truly horrific isolation is for the human body and mind. Numerous studies have documented that solitary confinement can result in permanent damage and significantly increase the risk of suicide and self-injury. What many people do not realize is that even progressive states like California continue to employ the practice with little oversight or limitation. 

Despite the important gains that were made in the last decade, including the Ashker settlement and other legal challenges, CDCR has failed to live up to its agreement to make things better. The legislature must send the Mandela Act to Governor Newsom’s desk, and this time, it is imperative that the Governor signs it into law.

The Mandela Act presents California lawmakers with the opportunity for a monumental step forward in our state, not only because of what it will mean for those languishing in these conditions today, but because of the important role it can play as a model for the rest of the United States. It is time for California to join states including New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, all of whom have banned prolonged solitary confinement beyond 15 days legislatively, despite the governors in each respective state having initially vetoed such bills. Ultimately, the voices of those who have experienced this torture and their loved ones, must be heard: it is time for California to end the torture of prolonged solitary confinement and this shameful chapter in our history.

Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater is the board president of NRCAT, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, and Executive Director of Friends In Deed.