The Vera Institute of Justice hosted this conversation between two people on the front lines of the movement to rethink solitary confinement in the U.S.—and the potential for reform.
Moderator
Bill Keller, The Marshall Project
Speakers
Commissioner W. David Guice
Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice, North Carolina Department of Public Safety
Danny Murillo
Soros Justice Advocacy Fellow, The Opportunity Institute
Common Misconceptions and Emerging Safe Alternatives
While the precise number of people held on any given day in what’s commonly called solitary confinement—though also known as segregated or restricted housing—is not known with any certainty, estimates run between 80,000 to 100,000 in state and federal prisons. However, evidence mounts that the practice produces many unwanted and harmful outcomes—fo ...
A Snapshot of Quality, Equity, and Scale in Prison Education Programs
Pell Grant restoration took effect on July 1, 2023, making incarcerated people in the United States eligible for need-based federal postsecondary financial aid for the first time in nearly 30 years. Since the launch of the Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative (SCP) in 2016, more than 45,000 incarcerated students have enrolled in SCP pro ...
Advancing Racial Equity and Inclusion in Prison Education Programs
The July 2023 return of Pell Grant eligibility for all people in prisons brings not only a monumental shift in opportunity but also a responsibility to ensure that everyone—regardless of race or ethnicity—gets access to that opportunity and the support to make use of it. To bridge the gap between promising practices for advancing equity in postseco ...