"He would not be alive today, were it not for his attorney, who begged him not to give up at the very end."
"This hearing of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights will come to order."
"We must address the overcrowding crisis in Federal prisons that made prisons more dangerous and dramatically increased the inmate-to-correctional officer ratio."
"Last year, my own State of Illinois closed the Tamms Correctional Center, which I mentioned earlier, relocating the remaining prisoners to other facilities."
"That is why the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has called for a ban on solitary for children under 18."
"More must be done. That is why today I am calling for all Federal and State facilities to end the use of solitary confinement for juveniles, pregnant women, and individuals with serious and persistent..."
"By reforming our solitary confinement practices, the United States can protect human rights, improve public safety, and be fiscally responsible."
"Nowhere is the damaging impact of incarceration on vulnerable children more obvious than when it involves solitary confinement."
"We do not support long-term placement of any juvenile in restrictive housing."
"I do not believe juveniles should be placed in solitary confinement except under the most exceptional circumstance."
"I think is directly linked to this whole conversation."
"The last question I will ask relates to testimony--we have some excellent witnesses coming in the later panel--about women, particularly pregnant women, who are placed in restrictive housing and solit..."