Suicide, homicide, and opioid overdose are all more likely
Prison Policy Initiative updates for October 14, 2020 Showing how mass incarceration harms communities and our national welfare
New data: Solitary confinement increases risk of premature death after release [[link removed]] Any amount of time spent in solitary confinement increases the risk of death after release from prison, including deaths by suicide, homicide, and opioid overdose.
by Andrea Fenster
A recently published study [[link removed]] of people released from North Carolina prisons confirms what many have long suspected: solitary confinement increases the risk of premature death, even after release. Personal stories, like those of Kalief Browder [[link removed]]’s isolation and subsequent suicide, are canaries in the coal mine. Underneath seemingly isolated events, researchers now find that solitary confinement is linked to more deaths after release from prison.
These preventable deaths aren’t outliers; in the U.S., where the use of solitary confinement is widespread, an estimated 80,000 people [[link removed]] are held in some form of isolation on any given day, and in a single year, over 10,000 people [[link removed]] were released to the community directly from solitary.
Premature deaths – by suicide, homicide, or opioid overdose – after release from prison are more likely for those that spent any amount of time (even one day) in solitary confinement than those who have never experienced solitary confinement.
The new study shows that the effects of solitary confinement go well beyond the immediate psychological consequences [[link removed]] identified by previous research, like anxiety, depression, and hallucinations.
The authors, from the University of North Carolina, Emory University, and the North Carolina Departments of Public Safety and Public Health, find that any amount of time spent in solitary confinement increases the risk of death in the first year after individuals return to the community, including deaths by suicide, homicide, and opioid overdose.
Reentry is tumultuous and challenging to begin with, and the first two weeks after release are among the most difficult. Previous research has shown that, within those first two weeks, the risk of death from drug overdose [[link removed]], cardiovascular disease, homicide, and suicide [[link removed]] is elevated. A 2007 study found that the risk of death in these first two weeks can be up to 12 times higher [[link removed]]than that of the general population. Building on that study’s findings, this new North Carolina study finds that the experience of any solitary confinement more than doubles the risk of death for people recently released from prison.
The study identifies two additional factors correlated with a heightened risk of death after release: race and the amount(length and frequency) of solitary confinement. All incarcerated people of color are more likely to die within a year of release, and the experience of solitary confinement only amplifies this racial disparity.
A previous study found that, compared to their share of the total prison population, Black men and women are overrepresented in solitary confinement [[link removed]], exposing them disproportionately to its harms. And unsurprisingly, more frequent placements in solitary confinement — as well as longer stays — are associated with worse outcomes across both white and nonwhite populations.
This graph is based on the Cox Propotional Hazard ratio, which represents the risk of death while accounting for variables like sex, race, age, prior incarcerations, length of incarceration, and other factors as calculated by the authors of the study.
This study adds to the overwhelming body of evidence that solitary confinement causes indelible harm and should be prohibited. But until that happens, the authors recommend that discharge plans and public health systems should consider time spent in solitary confinement as a risk factor to be addressed when people are released from prisons.
By considering solitary confinement in discharge plans, reentry programs and professionals could connect people to services after release from incarceration, specifically trauma-informed, community-based substance use and mental health treatment, overdose prevention and harm reduction, and wraparound care and services.
Of course, there is no need to wait until a person is released from prison to address the long-lasting harms of solitary confinement. Programs and professionals working in prisons that use solitary confinement should use this information to provide services that focus on breaking the link between solitary confinement and premature death after release. Correctional systems should not wait to mitigate harms after they have already occurred: Solitary confinement causes far more harm than good and is not a “rehabilitative” process.
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Our work is made possible by private donations. Can you help us keep going? We can accept tax-deductible gifts online [[link removed]] or via paper checks sent to PO Box 127 Northampton MA 01061. Thank you!
Other news: Aging alone: Uncovering the risk of solitary confinement for people over 45 [[link removed]]
Our short report in 2017 estimated that more than 44,000 people 45 and older experience solitary in state prisons each year. As prisons continue to get "grayer," policymakers must understand that denying older incarcerated people access to sunlight, exercise, and interaction with other people and spaces is inhumane and dangerous.
Read our full 2017 analysis. [[link removed]]
Further reading: The difficulty of reentry during COVID-19 [[link removed]]
In a recent report, we review the data about the challenges of reentry (including homelessness, unemployment, and a lack of access to telephones), and call for state and local governments to provide more support for people leaving prison during and after the pandemic.
Read our analysis of reentry during COVID-19. [[link removed]]
Please support our work [[link removed]]
Our work is made possible by private donations. Can you help us keep going? We can accept tax-deductible gifts online [[link removed]] or via paper checks sent to PO Box 127 Northampton MA 01061. Thank you!
Our other newsletters Ending prison gerrymandering ( archives [[link removed]]) Criminal justice research library ( archives) [[link removed]]
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