msn.com: Roughly 1 in 8 Florida prisoners is in solitary confinement

UC research collaboration looks at the detriments and biases of extended solitary management

A study of Florida’s Department of Corrections data, co-authored by UC criminal justice researcher Joshua Cochran, PhD, recently found that people in certain demographic groups are more likely to be placed in long-term solitary confinement than other prisoners in Florida. The study identified those demographic groups as Black people, men, young people and those with mental health issues.  

This study sought to shed light on extended solitary management (ESM) that typically entails a minimum 6-month stay and up to 23-hour per day isolation in a separate facility and is used for managing individuals deemed to be otherwise unmanageable and to increase prison system safety and order.

The study findings were first covered in the Tampa Bay Times, but was syndicated by msn.com.  

Cochran, an associate professor in UC’s School of Criminal Justice, is currently studying ESM in the Ohio prison system.

Read the msn article 

Featured photo at top of prision cell provided by Unsplash/Ayrus Hill. 

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