Browne, Angela, Alissa Cambier, and Suzanne Agha. “Prisons Within Prisons: The Use of Segregation in the United States.” Federal Sentencing Reporter 24, no. 1 (2011): 46–49.
This article provides a concise overview of the history and current use of segregation in the United States, including disciplinary segregation, administrative segregation, protective custody, temporary confinement, and supermax prisons. In addition to addressing the conditions of confinement in segregation, the authors discuss the groundbreaking efforts undertaken by Ohio and Mississippi in the mid-2000s to study and reduce their over-reliance on segregation. The article concludes with a description of the Vera Institute of Justice’s Segregation Reduction Project, which works in partnership with states and local jurisdictions to reduce the use of segregation while ensuring institutional and public safety.
Keywords: disciplinary segregation, administrative segregation, protective custody, supermax, conditions of confinement, alternatives, step-down, success stories, harmful effects, costs, safety, Vera