On Monday, January 25, 2016, President Obama announced that he had tasked Attorney General Loretta Lynch with reviewing the use of solitary confinement in the federal prison system. Based on Attorney General Lynch’s report, President Obama decided to adopt the report’s recommendations which included:
- banning solitary confinement for juveniles;
- expanding treatment for the mentally ill in response to low level infractions; and
- increasing the amount of time that inmates can spend outside of their cells while in solitary.
The White House issued a Fact Sheet on Tuesday, announcing the decision. President Obama also penned an editorial, explaining his reasoning, on Tuesday, January 26, 2016, in the Washington Post.
