Solitary confinement is a form of torture that the Illinois Department of Corrections subjects countless incarcerated people to as a regular practice. Incarcerated people and their families are speaking up and speaking out to end this cruelty. It is an attack on the well-being of incarcerated people, and a reflection of the prison system's torturous practices. It's used as a tool of repression to punish those who speak out on their mistreatment within prisons. Additional prison time is being added on to inmate sentences for tickets given by officers. Furthermore, the likelihood of inmates being truly rehabilitated while being incarcerated is highly unlikely. While the prison system and guards continue to harm inmates, many inmate concerns and or complaints surrounding inhumane living conditions/prison guard assaults are never addressed. Many assaults are taking place against incarcerated inmates by prison guards.  According to data from department reports, there is an average of more than 50 per month in 28 corrections facilities statewide. Solitary Confinement does more harm to an individual's mental health, “A report from the United Nations said the prolonged use of solitary confinement can trigger psychological suffering, especially for prisoners who already had experienced trauma or struggled with mental health conditions”. The United States prison system that over utilizes Solitary Confinement as a punishment that is given to prisoners is viewed as torture according to United Nations experts. The elimination of such practices by the United States correctional facilities are supported globally "For years, my mandate has raised concerns about the worldwide overuse of solitary confinement which is subject to widespread arbitrariness", said Nils Melzer, UN Special Rapporteur on torture. "My predecessor, Prof. Juan Mendez, has compellingly shown the extent to which such practices could amount to torture." https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25633 

Anthony Gay endured 22 years in solitary confinement, and now he is fighting to pass legislation to bring it to an end here in Illinois. The Illinois House passed a bill, named after Gay, that would prohibit the state from isolating prisoners for more than 10 days in a six-month period. But the bill has since stalled in the Senate. The Isolated Confinement Restriction Act (HB3564), also known as the Anthony Gay Law, would limit the use of solitary confinement to 10 days within a 180- day period. Thousands of people in the Illinois Department of Corrections are being tortured through the use of solitary confinement, and we need to pass this bill NOW! 

HB 3564 has passed the Illinois House, and now sits before the Senate. Add your name below to demand an end to rampant torture practices! PASS HB 3564 NOW!