Lawmakers in Richmond are considering a bill that would prohibit people who are incarcerated from being held in solitary confinement.
Kenneth Hunter knows the paranoia and fear that comes with solitary confinement, which he says is inhumane and unacceptable. That's why he's urging members of the General Assembly to prohibit the use of isolated confinement at state correctional facilities.
"I am a survivor of solitary confinement," Hunter says. "I did over three years of solitary confinement, and I want to testify personally that I still deal with the trauma from that experience."
David Lindsey at Interfaith Action for Human Rights says lawmakers need to take action.
"The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has defined 15 or more consecutive days of solitary as torture," Lindsey explains. "And no person, regardless of what they may have done, deserves to be tortured."
A bill banning solitary confinement was introduced by Senator Joe Morrissey, a Democrat from Richmond. It's already passed one committee, although now senators need to make sure there's enough money in the budget to make it happen.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
