Why We Ended Long-Term Solitary Confinement in Colorado<br />Now inmates are no longer placed in long-term isolation, nor are any inmates released directly from solitary.<br />COLORADO SPRINGS — For years, the Colorado corrections system had a ready answer for inmates it wanted to punish.<br />My predecessor, Tom Clements, was assassinated in 2013 by a former inmate who had been<br />released directly into the community after having spent seven years in solitary.<br />Just six years ago, 1,500 inmates, or almost 7 percent of the prison population, were housed in solitary on any given day.<br />I was told of instances where two corrections officers would remove an inmate from solitary after years of involuntary isolation.
