On September 19, 27 teenage boys were thrown into solitary confinement at the Broad River Road Complex in Columbia, South Carolina. Four remain there to this day.
The 27 boys were initially shackled and locked in a dormitory for roughhousing. Some of them rebelled by destroying property, stealing food and removing their shackles. In response, corrections officers placed them in solitary confinement for rioting. Seventeen of them stayed there for four weeks, and four remain shackled all alone with little to no human contact and no opportunities to get an education.
Children in the juvenile detention system already fall behind in their coursework and relationships with peers and teachers, causing a slippery slope that may hinder them for their whole lives. Placing children in juvenile detention only exacerbates the problem. Worse, research shows that 23 hours or more of solitary confinement causes psychological and physiological trauma, and is considered a form of torture by criminal justice advocates.
Holding people in solitary confinement is cruel at any age, let alone childhood years. Please sign the petition to urge Broad River Road Complex to free the boys they're keeping in solitary confinement!
We, the undersigned, are concerned about the four teenage boys being held in solitary confinement at the Broad River Road Complex in Columbia, South Carolina.
Children in the juvenile detention system already fall behind in their coursework and relationships with peers and teachers, causing a slippery slope that may hinder them for their whole lives. Placing children in juvenile detention only exacerbates the problem. Worse, research shows that 23 hours or more of solitary confinement causes psychological and physiological trauma, and is considered a form of torture by criminal justice advocates.
Holding people in solitary confinement is cruel at any age, let alone childhood years. We urge you to immediately free these four boys. Thank you for taking the time to read and consider this petition.
