272763 Long-term isolation as torture

Monday, October 29, 2012 : 2:55 PM - 3:20 PM

Dorsey Nunn, Community Advocate , Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, San Francisco, CA
The use of long-term solitary confinement results in serious mental and physical health problems. The California prisoner hunger strikes of 2011 highlighted this issue to hundreds of thousands of Californians. The author will report on his interviews with over thirty family members of men currently in administrative detention for more than 10 years in California prisons. As a participant in the negotiations between the California Department of Corrections and the Prison Hunger Strikers of 2011-12, he will also offer an insider's in-the-field perspective on the effectiveness of prisoner and community strategies for changing prison conditions. Solitary confinement as an instrument of torture will be discussed.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Ethics, professional and legal requirements
Other professions or practice related to public health
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Define human rights law as it relates to solitary confinement and torture. Compare punishment and torture and where solitary confinement fits into this comparison.

Keywords: Human Rights, Prison

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, an advocacy organization with 30 years of work with prisoners and their families. I am a negotiator between prisoners and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation concerning conditions of solitary confinement.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3357.0: Invited Session: Multi-Year Solitary Confinement in California and the Prisoner Hunger Strikes of 2011-12