Amnesty International is accusing Arizona of violating international law by improperly using "cruel isolation" for non-violent or mentally ill inmates and depriving them of basic physical and mental health care.
In a report issued Tuesday, the human rights organization said that of the more than 2,900 inmates being held in Arizona's maximum-security facilities, more than 2,000 are confined by themselves in windowless cells 22 to 24 hours a day. They suffer sensory deprivation with little access to natural light and receive no work, educational or rehabilitation programs, the group charged.
Amnesty International said it obtained its statistics from the Arizona Department of Corrections, whose spokesman Bill Lamoreaux told msnbc.com that neither he nor Director Charles Ryan would comment on the report or its accuracy because it refers to ongoing litigation.
Amnesty International said that Arizona's isolation system has led some inmates to commit suicide, caused depression and anxiety and worsened pre-existing mental illnesses.
The group said it recognizes that sometimes it may be necessary to segregate prisoners for disciplinary or security purposes, measures must be consistent with international standards that it said limits use of solitary confinement and calls for natural light and fresh air.
The Amnesty International report said several states reduced or closed long-term isolation units without compromising safety or security. The reductions sometimes came as court-ordered prison improvements or cost-containment efforts, it said. Mississippi cut its long-term isolation population 80 percent after its corrections department tightened assignment criteria in 2007, the group said. The report also said Maine, Colorado and Illinois were working to reduce solitary confinement.
The group issued several recommendations for the Corrections Department and Gov. Jan Brewer, whose office did not respond to an msnbc.com inquiry about its reaction to the report.
They include:
- Reducing the number of prisoners in isolation.
- Improving conditions in the isolation units.
- Removing prisoners with serious mental illness from the units.
- Taking suicide-prevention measures.
- Barring children under 18 from being held in solitary confinement.
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