Kinkead, Davis call for solitary confinement reform
Duo pushes reform legislation at Capitol rally with Abolitionist Law Center
Rep. Emily Kinkead June 5, 2025 | 2:43 PM
HARRISBURG, June 5 – As solitary confinement is used on people as a form of punishment in Pennsylvania prisons and jails, state Rep. Emily Kinkead held a news conference Wednesday at the state Capitol discussing her legislation with Rep. Tina Davis to reform how the tactic is implemented in the state’s criminal justice system.
“Solitary confinement is not only cruel – it’s counterproductive to the goals of our justice system,” said Kinkead, D-Allegheny. “Isolating people for hours or days at a time does nothing to rehabilitate them and only deepens trauma that many are already carrying. This legislation is about protecting both inmates and prison staff, ensuring accountability, and ending a practice that has no place in a system that claims to value justice and rehabilitation.”
"Solitary confinement, especially when used on vulnerable individuals like those with mental illness or disabilities, causes lasting harm and does little to promote rehabilitation,” said Davis, D-Bucks. “This legislation is about creating a more humane and just correctional system – one that prioritizes mental health, transparency, and real opportunities for reform. It’s time we recognize that isolating people in this way is not justice – it’s cruelty."
Kinkead’s and Davis’ proposed legislation would:
- Prohibit solitary confinement of individuals for longer than 15 days.
- Require the use of less restrictive interventions prior to the use of solitary confinement.
- Require access to mental health and other supportive services for those in solitary confinement.
- Improve transparency and speed of appeals for those who are put into solitary confinement.
- Limit the use of solitary confinement for young people, people with mental illness, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable populations.
- Establish parameters for guaranteed out-of-cell time and social interactions for individuals placed in solitary confinement.
“Solitary confinement is something that our society has considered dangerously damaging and harmful, but we've let our guard down since the 1980s and allowed it to become present in every jail and prison in Pennsylvania. Now is the time to look closely at where we can eliminate it and greatly cut back on the people we're sending to our solitary units – and help create a healthier and safer society by putting less people through that traumatizing experience,” said Abolitionist Law Center organizer John Thompson.
Kinkead and Davis will soon formally introduce the bill.
Additionally, Kinkead will soon introduce separate legislation that would reform the use of solitary confinement in the commonwealth's juvenile detention centers and is part of the CARE Package for Juvenile Justice unveiled by her and five other Pennsylvania House Democrats earlier this year.
Photos from Wednesday’s news conference are available here.