• Prison and Detention Conditions

    Prisoners and detainees in many local, state and federal facilities, including those run by private contractors, confront conditions that are abusive, degrading and dangerous. Soaring prison populations due to harsh sentencing laws—which legislators have been reluctant to change—and immigrant detention policies coupled with tight budgets have left governments unwilling to make the investments in staff and resources necessary to ensure safe and humane conditions of confinement. Such failures violate the human rights of all persons deprived of their liberty to be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and to be free from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

  • Territorial Correctional Facility, Canon City, Colorado, on the yard.
    © 2011 Jamie Fellner/Human Rights Watch
    US: Number of Aging Prisoners Soaring
    Aging men and women are the most rapidly growing group in US prisons, and prison officials are hard-pressed to provide them appropriate housing and medical care. Because of their higher rates of illness and impairments, older prisoners incur medical costs that are three to nine times as high as those for younger prisoners.
More news »

Featured Content

Subscribe to content feed

Reports

Prison and Detention Conditions

  • Letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta: Repatriate or Resettle Detainees Cleared for Transfer and Implement PRBs
    Apr 9, 2012
    Human Rights Watch wrote to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta urging the administration to redouble its efforts to facilitate the repatriation and or appropriate resettlement of those detainees already cleared for transfer and to implement as soon as possible the Periodic Review Board (PRB) process to facilitate identification of additional detainees for repatriation or resettlement.
  • US Supreme Court: Take Into Account Prison Hardships for Youth
    Mar 29, 2012
    The US Supreme Court, in its deliberations on the cases Miller v. Alabama and Jackson v. Hobbs, should consider the harsh conditions juvenile offenders face in adult prisons. On March 20, 2012, the US Supreme Court held oral arguments in the cases, which question the constitutionality of sentencing youth below the age of 18 to life without parole.
  • US: Statement to the House of Representatives on the Department of Homeland Security’s New Immigration Detention Standards
    Mar 28, 2012
    Immigration detention is no holiday. 129 detainees have died in ICE custody since 2003, and there is credible evidence that poor medical care in detention contributed to a number of those deaths. The 2011 Performance Based National Detention Standards published by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) represent an important step toward ensuring the safety of immigrants in detention.
  • Assisted Living — Behind Bars
    Mar 26, 2012
    If elderly prisoners can be safely released from prison to finish the rest of their lives under parole supervision — at much lower cost to taxpayers — it is hard to see what society gains from keeping them behind bars.
  • The Human Rights Paradigm: The Foundation for a Criminal Justice System We Can Be Proud Of
    Mar 21, 2012
    Human rights are unmatched as guideposts toward a truly just criminal justice system. Advocates can look to them for a dignity-affirming template for progress.
  • Illinois: Proposed Closure of Tamms Supermax a Step in the Right Direction
    Mar 8, 2012
    Human Rights Watch wrote to Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to express support for his proposal to close the Tamms Correctional Center. We also sent similar letters to Illinois state legislators on the relevant appropriations committees and the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.
  • Colorado: Assembly Acts to Protect Youth Accused of Crimes
    Mar 6, 2012
    Colorado’s General Assembly passed a bill on March 5, 2012 that will help keep children accused of crimes out of adult jails when they are awaiting trial.
  • California: Over 300 Youth Face Life Without Parole
    Feb 29, 2012
    Approximately 300 youth offenders have been sentenced to die in California’s prisons for crimes committed when they were teenagers, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The United States is the only country in the world where people who were under age 18 at the time of their crime serve sentences of life without parole. Nationally, more than 2,500 youth offenders are serving these sentences.
  • US: Number of Aging Prisoners Soaring
    Jan 27, 2012
    Aging men and women are the most rapidly growing group in US prisons, and prison officials are hard-pressed to provide them appropriate housing and medical care. Because of their higher rates of illness and impairments, older prisoners incur medical costs that are three to nine times as high as those for younger prisoners.
  • US: Harsh Conditions for Young Lifers
    Jan 3, 2012
    The approximately 2,570 youth offenders serving life without parole sentences in adult US prisons experience conditions that violate fundamental human rights. The United States is the only country in the world with youth offenders (below the age of 18 at the time of offense) serving life without parole sentences. The US Supreme Court will consider arguments about the constitutionality of the practice in March 2012.
more documents on this topic »