Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana corrections officials say they are making progress in reducing the use of restrictive housing — often called solitary confinement — in state prisons.
And they called criminal justice advocates’ release of a prisoner survey Tuesday “propaganda based on a non-scientific survey.”
Officials dispute some inmates’ claims that they are never let out of their cells. And they pushed back against claims that medical care is neglected.
The state’s latest figures show 1,184 inmates are in restrictive housing — about 3.75% of the inmate population. That’s lower than figures from recent years cited in Tuesday’s report.
Loyola University’s Jesuit Social Research Institute, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana and the organization Solitary Watch released the report. It’s part of a push to greatly reduce solitary confinement.