EXCESSIVE ISOLATION IN PRISONS AMOUNTS TO TORTURE: REPORT

A new report says too many federal inmates in isolation aren’t getting a few hours a day out of their cells, pushing them into territory that could be described as inhuman treatment or even torture. The report by two criminologists says nearly three in 10 prisoners in isolation units didn’t have all or any of the four hours out of their cells they are supposed to get, for two weeks at a time. A further one in 10 were kept in excessive isolation for 16 days or longer, which by international laws and Canadian rulings constitutes cruel treatment and falls short of guidelines the Liberals ushered in to allow better access to programming and mental-health care for inmates who must be kept apart from other prisoners. The report said results show Canada commits “torture by another name.”