By Josia Klein, Ohio State University
Leah Winsberg, a third year J.D. candidate at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, has found a way to combine her passions for law and advocating for children by working to recognize the use of solitary confinement as a human rights issue and seeking to end its use, particularly for individuals under the age of 18.
Winsberg first became passionate about ending youth solitary confinement when she worked with children who had been placed in seclusion at mental health facilities, juvenile detention facilities and adult institutions. She witnessed solitary’s devastating effects on children, especially those with mental health problems. Winsberg notes that even children who weren’t in isolation for extended periods of time still exhibited self-destructive behaviors after the experience.
Adolescents in seclusion often live in small, isolated cells without windows, human contact or access to the outside world. Individuals may be placed in solitary confinement for rule infractions or for protection from threats within the institution, and they can spend 22 to 24 hours a day in this space, deprived of education, exercise and mental-health care.
“I strongly believe we should invest in our children by doing what we can to set them up for success—not harming them. We can’t possibly expect our children to be successful after we subject them to such serious harm,” says Winsberg.
Leah Winsberg, 3L at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections refers to solitary confinement as “restrictive housing” and operates a tiered system that does not always re-socialize individuals before releasing prisoners into the community from solitary conditions. The effects of this isolation are evidenced by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio, who state symptoms such as severe depression, paranoia, distortions, irrational rage, self-mutilation and increased rates of suicide.
Juveniles in adult prisons are forced to spend their sentences in solitary confinement, ironically because of the laws in place to protect them. Until they are 18, they cannot be among the adult population as per the Prison Rape Elimination Act, which stipulates that minors cannot be in sight, sound or physical contact with the adult prisoners. Winsberg notes that “[b]y the time these individuals are old enough to be mixed with the general population, they are incredibly damaged.”
In Ohio, there is no law prohibiting facilities from placing youths in seclusion. The U.S. Department of Justice has documented how extreme isolation can lead to trauma or exacerbate underlying mental health issues. At an international level, the United Nations passed a resolution prohibiting the use of solitary confinement with juvenile offenders: in October 2011, the U.N. called on all countries to ban solitary confinement for youth. The United States remains one of three U.N. countries that have not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
For Winsberg, who began her career as a child advocate, earning a law degree is a powerful tool that she hopes will allow her to create change on a larger scale. By learning about the system, she hopes to generate change from within by influencing policies that affect children to prevent future youth from falling into difficult positions.
Winsberg collaborated with the Children’s Law Center (CLC) and wrote and published an opinion piece in The Cleveland Plain Dealer and on Cleveland.com. As a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, she also created a presentation on solitary confinement for a Juvenile Law Committee meeting in September 2015.
Currently in her third year of law school, Winsberg works as a law clerk at the Cuyahoga County Public Defender’s office and volunteers with child support clinics through Cleveland-Marshall’s pro bono program. She is passionate about creating systemic change to improve the quality of life for traditionally marginalized and vulnerable populations.
After graduation, Winsberg plans to use her degree to continue advocating for children, committing to direct representation for and working on issues related to criminal justice, foster care, education and poverty. For those who are considering attending law school, she advises doing informational interviews in their legal areas of interest. These connections with professionals are invaluable, and recognizing your passion is essential to motivating you throughout the rigorous process of obtaining a Juris Doctor.
As for the future of solitary confinement for Ohio’s youth, momentum is building to reform its methods. On Feb. 23, the CLC will partner with the ACLU of Ohio and Disability Rights Ohio to discuss solitary confinement as a constitutional issue. Change is possible: CLC’s 2014 lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Youth Services resulted in an effort to reduce and ultimately eliminate the use of solitary confinement in state juvenile correctional facilities.
“If we are serious about rehabilitation and not just punishment, we must consider how to foster an environment that will allow offenders to be successful and function in society upon release,” says Winsberg.
The campaign to end solitary confinement continues with CLC’s partnership with Fusion Network; working together led to CLC youth clients being featured in Fusion’s recent documentary Prison Kids, which aims to provide information about the juvenile justice system in Ohio. The OSBA will be showing the documentary at law schools across the state, often to be followed with panel discussions about juvenile justice.
Free OSBA Prison Kids screenings at law schools:
Prison Kids, the investigative documentary about juvenile justice in the United States.
Wednesday, Feb. 17 @ 6 p.m.
@ University of Dayton School of Law in the Atrium
Panelists speaking after the film:
Judge Anthony Capizzi, Montgomery County Juvenile Court
Judge Zimmerman, Shelby County
Erin Davies, Juvenile Justice Coalition
Monday, February 29
@ University of Toledo School of Law
Monday, April 3
@ University of Akron School of Law
Thursday, April 7
@ University of Cincinnati College of Law
For more information about the OSBA Prison Kids screenings and to RSVP, please contact Magistrate Kathleen Lenski by email at klenski@mcjcohio.org.
Sources:
- http://www.childrenslawky.org/stop-solitary-confinement/
- http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/07/end_solitary_confinement_for_o.html
- http://www.acluohio.org/locked-up-alone-and-mentally-ill
- http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/01/juveniles-kids-solitary-confinement-ohio-new-york
- http://ojp.gov/programs/pdfs/prea_final_rule.pdf
- http://www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood/cev-rpt-full.pdf
- http://www.togethertoendsolitary.org/past-event-roundup/2016/1/19/spotlight-ohio-takes-on-youth-campaign
- http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2014/05/justice_department_state_of_oh.html
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