Seeing Solitary

As of one day in July of 2021, more than

41,000 people

were held in solitary confinement cells in prisons in the United States

for 22 hours or more a day, for 15 or more continuous days.

Many have spent weeks, months, or years in these conditions.

Seeing Solitary draws from a decade of data providing the numbers, duration, and demographic information as reported by prison systems around the country.

Photo from ADX Florence by Lizzie Himmel

As of one day in July of 2021, more than

41,000 people

were held in solitary confinement cells in prisons in the United States for 22 hours or more a day, for 15 or more continuous days.

Many have spent weeks, months, or years in these conditions.

Seeing Solitary draws from a decade of data providing the numbers, duration, and demographic information as reported by prison systems around the country.

What length of solitary confinement did we study?

Solitary confinement means being locked alone inside a cell for hours on end. Relying on the 2015 UN Nelson Mandela rules, this research asked about people separated from the general prison population and isolated in cell for

HOURS PER DAY

CONTINUOUS DAYS

Many more people are in forms of isolation that fall outside the scope of the information reported here.

What conditions do people face in solitary confinement?

Photo of the interior of a small solitary confinement cell containing a toilet, sink and small bed on the floor.

People in solitary confinement spend virtually all of their time with no social contact in a cell that contains a cot and toilet.

In some jurisdictions, people receive their meals through a slot in the door of the cell.

Some cells have no windows, and some are lit around-the-clock. Solitary confinement can be eerily silent or unnervingly loud.

People in solitary confinement spend virtually all of their time with no social contact in a cell that contains a cot and toilet.

In some jurisdictions, people receive their meals through a slot in the door of the cell.

Some cells have no windows, and some are lit around-the-clock. Solitary confinement can be eerily silent or unnervingly loud.

A typical solitary cell is smaller than the size of a parking space.

An illustration of a parking space viewed from overhead, with a silhouette of a human being superimposed within the parking space to show scale.

"Prolonged solitary confinement exacts a heavy psychological toll that often continues to plague an inmate's mind even after he is resocialized. . . common adverse side effects ... include anxiety, headaches and other psychosomatic symptoms, lethargy, insomnia, decreased appetite, and nightmares."

—U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit holding that conditions for people incarcerated on a state’s death row violated the U.S. constitutional prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment,” Porter v. Clarke, 923 F.3d 348, 356-57 (4th Cir. 2019)

"Solitary confinement is used as a punishment for the specific purpose of breaking a prisoner. Nothing relieved the pressure of being locked in a cell 23 hours a day. In 1982, after 10 years, I still had to fight an unconscious urge to get up, open the door, and walk out."

—Albert Woodfox, Author of the 2019 memoir, Solitary, spent 43 years in solitary confinement. He was released from prison in 2016 and died in August of 2022.

"I was denied a mattress, a pillow, or a sheet. Given only a small gray blanket, I slept on a concrete slab covered in dried mucus and the grime of years without cleaning. The guy in the cell across from me spent all day talking to himself. Arguing with himself. Guards and nurses alike ignored his disintegration."

—Reginald Dwayne Betts (2016); now a lawyer, poet, former Liman Fellow, and winner of a MacArthur Fellowship, Mr. Betts spent time in prison in Virginia.

—Albert Woodfox, Author of the 2019 memoir, Solitary, spent 43 years in solitary confinement. He was released from prison in 2016 and died in August of 2022.

—Reginald Dwayne Betts (2016); now a lawyer, poet, former Liman Fellow, and winner of a MacArthur Fellowship, Mr. Betts spent time in prison in Virginia.

1 / 4

How many people in July of 2021 were reported to be held for one year or more?

Of the 25,029 people in 34 jurisdictions for whom data was provided:

A graphic using silhouettes of people to illustrate the numbers of people held in solitary confinement for longer than 1 year.

1 in 4 people in solitary had been held for

1 year

1 in 10 people in solitary had been held for

3 years

1 in 25 people in solitary had been held for

10 years

Who was reported to be in solitary confinement in 2021?

This data comes from reports from 33 jurisdictions that provided data in 2021.

Black men

% IN GENERAL POPULATION

% OF PEOPLE IN SOLITARY

Black women

% IN GENERAL POPULATION

% OF PEOPLE IN SOLITARY

Hispanic or Latino men

% IN GENERAL POPULATION

% OF PEOPLE IN SOLITARY

To learn more about the intersections of race, gender, and ethnicity in solitary, scroll to the end to explore our data

How widespread is solitary confinement? And where is it ending?

USED SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IN JULY 2021

10 OR FEWER PEOPLE IN SOLITARY

10 OR FEWER IN SOLITARY IN WOMEN'S PRISONS

We estimate that

0-0

people were held in solitary in 2021.

Compare to these city populations.

Burlington, VT

Charlottesville, VA

Olympia, WA

Cleveland Heights, OH

What length of solitary confinement did we study?

What conditions do people face in solitary confinement?

A typical solitary cell is smaller than the size of a parking space.

Photo by Jack Black

Who was reported to be in solitary confinement in 2021?

Black men

Black women

Hispanic or Latino men

How widespread is solitary confinement? And where is it ending?

Learn more about the practice of solitary confinement across the country with our interactive dashboards: