Amnesty International welcomes this opportunity to submit further testimony to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights on “Reassessing Solitary Confinement: the Human Rights, Fiscal, and Public Safety Consequences,” following its first hearing in June 2012. The practice of solitary confinement in US prisons and conditions in isolation units remains a major human rights concern. The organization urges the Committee to take concrete steps to ensure that US practice is consistent with the USA’s obligations under international human rights law and standards.
