March 2020 Bar Bulletin
By Marc Levin
The King County Bar’s mission is to achieve excellence and equity in the administration of justice. To achieve that goal we must look to reform Washington’s laws governing the use of solitary confinement on our prisoners.
The safety of our prison staff should be one of our paramount concerns — alongside the safety of inmates and the communities into which they will eventually be released. Some states are enacting reforms that enhance all the above, through putting appropriate limits on solitary confinement. Washington would be wise to follow suit.
Solitary confinement can have damaging effects on those segregated from their fellow...