No Justice in Isolation
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
Dear Friend,
Imagine being isolated in a tiny prison cell for days, weeks, or months on end.
You don’t know when you will be allowed to go out for a walk or some fresh air. When you look up, you see concrete walls and no windows. Often, the only interaction you have with someone else is when you’re handed a meal through a small food slot.
This is the reality for many people who are currently in the prison system. Imprisoned people are being denied basic needs – the ability to go on a walk, to have a conversation with another person, and access to institutional programs. This is not right. Long-term solitary confinement was found to be unconstitutional years ago, and yet, it still happens.
That is why we are going back to court to fight against solitary confinement.
DONATE TODAY, JOIN OUR FIGHT TO END SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
In... 2019, we had a historic win when the BC Court of Appeal ruled that laws allowing solitary confinement in Canada’s federal prisons were inhumane and unconstitutional. However, wardens at federal prisons continue to use solitary confinement under different names, using practices known as lockdowns and restrictive movement routines.
Regardless of what these practices are called, they amount to solitary confinement.
Solitary confinement (isolation for 22 hours or more a day) beyond 15 days is defined by the UN and human rights organizations as torture. It causes physical, psychological, social and spiritual trauma, and even for people who were previously healthy, it can be so torturous, it can cause mental illness.
No one should ever have to experience solitary confinement. These practices must end. That’s why we are going back to court.
Will you donate $50 today to help us fight for the rights of people in prison?
Stand up for human rights. Stand up for dignity. Please make a donation today.
Thank you for being a part of the tide of change.
Sincerely,
Megan Tweedie (She/her/hers)
Senior Counsel, Litigation
