New York Advocates Say Ban on Solitary for Juveniles is a Good Start

President Obama is banning the use of solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prisons.

In an op-ed in The Washington Post, the president cited Kalief Browder, a young Bronx man who spent years in solitary as a teen despite never being convicted of a crime. He later committed suicide.

The president also outlined other executive actions, including reforms to the ways adults are held in solitary and the expansion of mental health treatment.

Johnny Perez is an advocate with the New York City-based Mental Health Project of the Urban Justice Center. He spent three years in solitary while incarcerated in New York. He says while he welcomes the president's action, he wants to see the ban extended to include adults.

"Prisons should have tools to keep control within the prison," he said, "but I also feel that there's no situation in which a person needs to be treated inhumanely in order to hold them accountable."

Perez said he lost thirty pounds while serving a year in solitary for testing positive for marijuana. "The lights stays on all day, the officers dehumanize you. No eye contact, they don't even want to talk to you. The food is often cold. My toilet was stuck for about three days, I didn't get it fixed until three days later."

Norman Seabrook, president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, issued the following statement: "We welcome the President’s involvement in this discussion. That said, separating dangerous inmates from general population, officers and civilians inside correctional facilities is essential for safety. We don’t believe it should be punitive, rather it should be viewed as protective."