Laura Rovner: What happens to people in solitary confinement
Laura Rovner lectures and writes about the rights of people incarcerated in prisons and jails, particularly about solitary confinement. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
most secure prison is beautiful.
only supermax prison, known as ADX,
suburban middle school.
and clear views of the mountains;
with a kiosk selling travel mugs.
is the chance to work hard
framed photo of Alcatraz.
at the end of a long hallway,
the constitutional rights of prisoners.
about prisoners' rights.
more people can agree on:
says it doesn't use torture,
like Iran and North Korea,
worst of the worst deserve it:
the really "bad" people.
that no one deserves to be tortured
I need you to understand
here in America,
using our tax dollars,
of our justice system.
solitary confinement.
the size of a small bathroom.
occurs in that cell.
an arm's reach of his toilet,
through slots in the doors
to solitary exercise cages
by prisoners and staff alike,
mountains or any trees --
as a blade of grass,"
of not looking at anything
on faraway objects anymore.
on the floor of his cell for hours,
of someone's feet
that flew into his cell,
like a friend.
with fellow prisoners
lost their voices
speaking for that long.
of long-term isolation is devastating.
and torture regimes
as a form of severe punishment.
having a loved one,
for days, let alone years.
that first client at ADX,
Tommy Silverstein,
put in solitary confinement
confinement for 35 years.
to capture his experience of ADX,
an accomplished artist,
how we treat prisoners in this country,
for the rest of his life.
they suffered in prison,
puts people at risk
they're connected to a larger world.
is socially created.
our relationships with other people.
what you think about yourself.
whether you even have a self.
aren't even sure they exist,
to a corrections officer
break down in obvious ways,
on the walls of their cells
some of them successfully.
tethered to the real world.
in the adjustment itself.
of long-term isolation
to social withdrawal.
for human contact,
to a prolonged social death.
in suspended animation.
that's fully and tangibly human.
that international human rights law
of long-term solitary confinement.
to ban the use of solitary
in solitary for 12,815 days.
human rights records,
the use of long-term solitary
Israel, Iran, Indonesia and Yemen
instead of China,
and not some rogue sheriff,
and gleaming floors,
and decrepit facilities,
that torture happens there.
that, sometimes, this too
to ensure that people,
and fought and eventually won.
about how deeply this injustice is hidden.
people who work in the justice system,
less than two hours away from ADX.
to see that first client,
by human rights organizations.
by an unseen government official
is talking in too much detail
they keep out the human rights observers,
of places that torture.
the conditions in Guantanamo
and force-feeding at Guantanamo,
gagged family members and lawyers
is supposed to be transparent.
to debate and define the laws
serve as jurors on criminal trials.
our commitment to transparency ends.
of the public gaze,
intrusive power of the state:
accountable than prison.
are supported by tax payers
of their residents to our communities.
the ADX to disappear people.
said Justice Kennedy,
after the prisoner is taken away."
and responsibility of every citizen.
that sunlight is the best disinfectant.
what happens inside ADX,
can create change.
called the uncertainty principle.
fact of observation
and on our behalf.
implicate our tax dollars,
of every human being.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Laura Rovner - Law professorLaura Rovner lectures and writes about the rights of people incarcerated in prisons and jails, particularly about solitary confinement.
Why you should listen
Laura Rovner is a Professor of Law and Director of the Civil Rights Clinic at the University of Denver College of Law. Through her work at the clinic, she supervises law students representing incarcerated clients in constitutional litigation about prison conditions, such as indefinite solitary confinement, denial of outdoor exercise, lack of adequate medical and mental health care and the free exercise of religion. She is a recipient of the ACLU of Colorado's Edward Sherman Award for Outstanding Legal Work on Behalf of Further Civil Liberties in Colorado, the University of Denver's Distinguished Teaching Award and has been named as one of 5280 Magazine's "Top Lawyers in Civil Rights."
Rovner was a member of the litigation team that led to the creation of outdoor exercise yards at the State of Colorado's supermax prison, for which the team was selected as a finalist for the 2017 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award from the Public Justice Foundation. She has provided expert testimony before the European Court of Human Rights about conditions of confinement in the federal supermax prison and served on the Colorado legislature's Work Group on Serious Mental Illness in Long-term Isolated Confinement.
Rovner earned her JD from Cornell Law School and her Master of Laws degree from Georgetown.
Laura Rovner | Speaker | TED.com