Tell Governor Youngkin to amend solitary confinement bills HB2487 and SB 887

Act Now

The ACLU of Virginia has been working to end solitary confinement for years, so we were delighted to read recent headlines heralding the end of solitary confinement in Virginia.

There's just one problem: the bill language currently on Governor Youngkin's desk won't necessarily improve conditions for people incarcerated in Virginia.

A strong solitary bill would:

Include a time limit preventing people from being held in solitary longer than 15 days in a given 60-day period.
Apply these time limits to all units in which people could be locked in their cell for more than 20 hours, no matter what name VADOC uses for them.
Narrowly limit the reasons why people can be placed in solitary confinement.

The current bills do none of those things. Instead, the bill language currently before Governor Youngkin could give VADOC more discretion to put people in solitary, and it provides no enforcement mechanism for transparency or for people in solitary to challenge their placement there.

We need you to act now. Tell Governor Youngkin to amend the solitary bills to include real reform.

Message recipients:
Governor Glenn Youngkin

[The Form Label field is hidden on ACLU message action forms]

Your Message

Use the form to send a message to the Governor.

Subject

As a proud Virginian I was delighted to read recent headlines heralding the end of solitary confinement in Virginia. But when I dug a little deeper, I realized there’s just one problem. The bill language currently on your desk won't necessarily improve conditions for people incarcerated in Virginia. But you can change that: you can amend the solitary bills to close the gaps and meaningfully reform a practice that is cruel and inhumane.

Message Body

Any bill whose goal is to strengthen protections for people held in solitary confinement must do two things: it must meaningfully limit the reasons someone can be placed in solitary, and limit how long they can be held there. These bills do neither.

Far from ending solitary confinement in Virginia, the bill language currently in front of you doesn't include provisions limiting the reasons a person can be put in solitary confinement nor the amount of time a person can be held there. It doesn't even regulate all units that could have solitary conditions: only so-called Restorative Housing Units (RHUs).

And the regulations these bills do contain have dangerous loopholes that could actually expand VADOC's discretion to put people in solitary. For example, the bills permit VADOC to place people in RHU if VADOC determines their behavior "threatens the orderly operation of the facility," a reason so broad and subjective that – for an agency without any independent oversight – it amounts to a blank check.

The simple fact is these bills have no teeth to make things better for people held in solitary in Virginia, and plenty of language that VADOC could use to make things worse.

So today I’m asking you – if you really want substantive reform – to amend the bills. It's within your power to make sure the solitary bills include oversight of VADOC so the agency complies with the reforms that are in the legislation, and it's within your power, too, to amend the bills to include meaningful restrictions on the reasons and length of time someone may be kept in solitary conditions.

Without those amendments, these bills will not only fail to be the end of solitary confinement in Virginia – they will sadly fail to even qualify as reform.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

Your Information

All data you enter here will be shared with the message recipient along with your message, per our privacy statement.

Salutation *

(required by some officials)

ABOUT HONORIFIC TITLES

Many public officials use "web mail forms" that this system will send your message to, so you don't have to visit their web sites to communicate with them. The systems that some of these officials use requires that the honorific field be used (Mr., Mrs., Miss, etc.).

Unfortunately, we do not have control of which honorific titles are presented as options. We must adhere to what the officials are using in order for your message to be delivered.

Alternate Salutation

Most elected officials’ constituent email systems accept a very limited set of salutations. Please select the one you would most prefer.

First name *

Last name *

E-mail address *

Address *

Address Line 2

City *

State *

Zip Code *

Phone *

Phone Type *

Show my name in a list of action takers.

Sign me up for ACLU emails so I can stay informed and take action to protect people's rights.

I agree to receive calls and texts (including automated recurring text messages) from the ACLU and its state affiliates at the number I provided above about ways to take action and support the ACLU organizations. Message & Data Rates May Apply. Text STOP to quit. Privacy Statement

Leave this field blank

Tell Governor Youngkin to amend solitary confinement bills HB2487 and SB 887

Act Now

Recent participants