FXB Center Doctoral Cohort Member Testifies In Support Of Ending Solitary Confinement

BOSTON, Nov. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- FXB Center for Health and Human Rights Doctoral Cohort Member Jasmine D. Graves submitted written testimony this week in support of Massachusetts Legislature bills S.1578 and H.2504, which would provide criminal justice reform protections to all prisoners in segregated confinement in Massachusetts.

Graves, a public health researcher and social impact strategist, shared her expertise and research on harms of segregated and restrictive housing in correctional settings. Her testimony read, in part:

"During my tenure as a qualitative researcher within Correctional Health Services at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, I engaged in studies examining the harms of segregated housing units across NYC's jail system. In 2014, we found that acts of self-harm among people incarcerated were strongly associated with those placed in punitive segregation (solitary confinement). People punished by solitary confinement were approximately 6.9 times as likely to commit acts of self-harm. This association also held true for potentially fatal self-harm.

With my experience documenting the harms of solitary confinement, I urge you to support S.1578/H.2504. The Massachusetts legislature has an opportunity to intervene and address the harm experienced by your constituents held in State solitary confinement. This legislation is needed now, more than ever, in order to hold the Department of Correction (DOC) accountable and truly end the torture of solitary confinement in Massachusetts."

To read the full testimony, please visit the FXB Center's blog: https://fxb.harvard.edu/2021/11/16/testimony-solitary-confinement/

About the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University
The François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights (FXB Center) was founded and endowed by Albina du Boisrouvray in 1993. Her goal was to provide protection to children by furthering the vision for health and human rights of founding director Jonathan Mann, and it received the enthusiastic collaboration of then Dean Harvey Fineberg. We use interdisciplinary approaches to promote equity and dignity for those oppressed by racism, poverty, and stigma, nationally and around the world. We are proud to partner with a diverse group of scholars, educators, elected officials, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and members of the international policy community to advance health and human rights, and to show the harmful effects of violations on children. To learn more, please visit fxb.harvard.edu.

SOURCE FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University