Inmates who have won new sentences on appeal have a constitutional right to avoid the detrimental effects of such forced isolation unless prison officials can offer case-by-case justifications for imposing it, the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia ruled.
“Scientific research and evolving jurisprudence has made the harms of solitary confinement clear: Mental well-being and one’s sense of self are at risk,” Circuit Judge Theodore McKee wrote in an opinion joined by colleagues Julio M. Fuentes and Jane Richards Roth. “We can think of few values more worthy of constitutional protection than these core facets of human dignity.”
The ruling joins a growing body of legal decisions that recognize the dehumanizing effects of long-term solitary confinement while also acknowledging its necessity in some cases to ensure the safety of themselves and others.
Studies have repeatedly shown that extended and forced isolation can cause devastating psychological consequences and side effects including anxiety, depression, panic, and suicidal impulses.
