For Their Own Protection: Children in Solitary Confinement

Our “tough on crime” policies of the last few decades have put thousands of young offenders in adult prisons. Unable to defend themselves, teenagers are easy targets for older and stronger inmates.

The solution has been to keep them in solitary confinement “for their own protection”. And that’s how the most vulnerable population gets subjected to the harshest punishment allowed by law, the closest thing we have to torture. This story looks at efforts to change this shameful practice.