Solitary Confinement of Mentally Ill Inmates in Oregon's Prisons
In 2015, we went inside the Oregon State Penitentiary unit that houses inmates with severe mental illness. What we found was alarming. Individuals spent 23 hours a day confined in dark, stifling cells. Solitary confinement exacerbates mental illness of prisoners, and undermines their basic humanity.
We published our findings in a report “Behind the Eleventh Door”. In 2016, the Department of Corrections (DOC) signed an agreement to transform the treatment of prisoners with mental illness and bring conditions up to constitutional standards within four years. Since then, we’ve been tracking ODOC’s progress.
Memorandum of Understanding
Press Releases
Oregon Department of Corrections Will Reduce Isolation and Improve Care in the BHU (January 13, 2016)
Progress Report: State Penitentiary Falls Short of Goal to Improve the Health and Well-Being of Inmates with Serious Mental Illness (April 26, 2017)
Report: Ongoing Isolation of State Prison Inmates for Nearly 23 Hours a Day Raises Alarms (April 10, 2018)
Five Years after Outcry over People Spending 23 Hours a Day in Cells, Oregon Prison Improved Treatment of Inmates with Mental Illness (January 11, 2021)
Media Coverage
Ban Solitary Confinement (KBOO’s Prison Pipeline, February 16, 2015)
Solitary Confinement of Oregon Inmates with Most Severe Mental Illnesses Must Stop, Advocacy Group Says (The Oregonian, April 8, 2015)
Inmates in Oregon’s Behavioral Health Unit Harm Themselves to Try to Get out of Solitary Cells, Investigation Finds (The Oregonian, May 3, 2015)
Severely Mentally Ill Prisoners Routinely Pepper-Sprayed and Denied Health Care (OPB News, May 4, 2015)
State Agrees with Advocacy Group to Reduce Isolation, Improve Care of Oregon Inmates with Severe Mental Illnesses (The Oregonian, January 13, 2016)
Corrections Department Will Improve Care for Mentally Ill (Associated Press, January 13, 2016)
Editorial: An Important Change for Prisoners (Bend Bulletin, January 17, 2016)
Report: Solitary Confinement Used too Much in Oregon Prisons (Statesman Journal, November 21, 2016)
Mentally Ill Prisoners Still in Their Cells An Average 23 Hours a Day (OPB News, April 26, 2017)
Editorial: Change at Oregon State Penitentiary Long Overdue (Statesman Journal, April 28, 2017)
Effort To Reduce Solitary Confinement For Mentally Ill Offenders Has Stalled (OPB News, April 10, 2018)
Report Finds Conditions Improved For Mentally Ill Prisoners in Oregon’s Maximum Security Prison (Willamette Week, January 11, 2021)
Disability Rights Advocates Say Oregon Prisons Doing Better by Severely Mentally Ill Inmates (The Oregonian, January 11, 2021)
