Problem
1) Evaluate the strength of the findings identified that led to a policy change.
2) Explain whether you would take the same action based upon the evidence presented.
The Solitary Confinement Study and Reform Act of 2022 was introduced by Representative David J. Trone on June 13th of 2022 (H.R. 8048 -117th Congress (2021-2022). This act, if passed, would limit solitary confinement of prisoners to the "...briefest term and under the least restrictive conditions possible...." (Committee on the Judiciary, 2022). The reasoning behind the proposed limitations on solitary confinement is due to criminal justice and psychological research that showed the long-lasting harmful effects of solitary confinement. "....research has shown that these conditions cause serious mental deterioration and illness. Prisoners in solitary confinement hallucinate, they deliberately injure themselves, and they lose the ability to relate to other human beings." (Heiden, 2013).
The most compelling evidence presented to spur this policy change along is the evidence presented that solitary confinement does in fact not make prisons any safer, which was the goal of the practice in the first place (Committee on the Judiciary, 2022). When an action does not achieve its desired outcome and causes irreparable harm then there is pressure to stop the practice. Several individuals who were subjected to solitary confinement told their story to legislators (Committee on the Judiciary, 2022) this telling of their story brought a human side to the issue. When policymakers are forced to interact with the people who are being harmed by a practice, demands for change is hard to ignore. The human side of testimony from those who experienced solitary confinement combined with the research showing that the goal of making prisons safer was not being achieved is what compelled this act to introduced to congress.