YSRP in The Inquirer on Solitary Confinement for Children

Kids in solitary in Philly jails: ‘It was the worst time of my life’

On August 15, 2016, the Philadelphia Inquirer published in-depth reporting on the practice of solitary confinement of youth in adult jails in Philadelphia. YSRP Co-Director Joanna Visser Adjoian calls attention to this harmful practice in the article, stating that “in Philadelphia, solitary confinement is used against children even in pretrial situations, where they have not been convicted of anything.” Remarking on the effect on a young person locked in solitary, Co-Director Lauren Fine states, “There’s sort of a dead look in a kid’s eye when they’ve been spending the entire day in a locked room by themselves,” Fine said. “It is really jarring to see a 16-year-old kid with chains around his belly and hands and feet, and to see that look.”

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