100 signatures reached
To: GOVERNOR MIKE PARSON
STOP THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
Solitary Confinement is a violation of Human Rights,
It violates articles Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Article 12: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Solitary confinement needs to be eliminated in the state of Missouri.
Why is this important?
Solitary confinement affects inmates in these three ways
1. Psychological
-Inmates often experience a sense of “isolation panic” when initially put into solitary confinement
-Those in solitary confinement often suffer from: depression, anxiety, psychosis and suicidal ideation
-Those who have a history regarding mental health experience worsened state
-The suicide rate amongst former inmates is highest among those who were in solitary confinement
2. Physical
-exposure outside and amongst others is vital for “normal” brain function
-lack of sensory exposure also leads to quickening memory loss
-issues with long distance eyesight
-Vitamin D deficiency increases risk for bone breaks and fractures
3. Societal
-there is no treatment when released for trauma or solitary confinement
-”Do we want people to come out better or worse than they went in”
Also, Inmates that are assigned to solitary confinement during their incarceration are 3.2 times as likely to commit an act of self-harm as opposed to those who did not experience solitary confinement.
Inmates that experienced solitary confinement were 2.1 times more likely to commit acts of self-harm during solitary confinement as well as 6.6 times more likely to commit acts of self-harm once outside of solitary confinement compared to inmates that never experienced solitary confinement.
This study shows that Serious Mental Illness coupled with solitary confinement lead to the highest rates of potentially fatal self-harm.
Solitary confinement, age, and serious mental illness overlaps showed that younger inmates were more likely to experience less lethal acts of self-harm, whereas older inmates were likely to commit more lethal acts of self-harm.
Knowing this information is a clear indication of a human rights violation and we should stand to correct that. Please sign the petition in solitary to show Gov. Parson that the citizens of Missouri stand in solidarity to put human rights first.