President Obama announced via an op-ed in the Washington Post that he will be enacting some major reforms in the federal prison system. He will be putting an end to solitary confinement for juveniles, and prohibiting the practice as a punishment for low-level infractions. The reforms were taken from a report by the Justice Department that listed recommendations for improving the system. It s estimated that approximately 10,000 individuals would be affected.Unfortunately, this only applies to the federal prison system and not to the majority of prison inmates that are incarcerated for state-level crimes. Even with that in mind, this is still a bold and very necessary step in reforming American prisons which can serve as a model for states to follow.President Obama made his case as follows:How can we subject prisoners to unnecessary solitary confinement, knowing its effects, and then expect them to return to our communities as whole people? It doesn t make us safer. It s an affront to our common humanity.The Justice Department has completed its review, and I am adopting its recommendations to reform the federal prison system. These include banning solitary confinement for juveniles and as a response to low-level infractions, expanding treatment for the mentally ill and increasing the amount of time inmates in solitary can spend outside of their cells. These steps will affect some 10,000 federal prisoners held in solitary confinement   and hopefully serve as a model for state and local corrections systems. And I will direct all relevant federal agencies to review these principles and report back to me with a plan to address their use of solitary confinement.Source: WaPoWhile acknowledging that sometimes solitary confinement can be required for certain individuals, President Obama made it clear that it s a punishment which is overused and ends up causing more harm than good in many cases.There are as many as 100,000 people held in solitary confinement in U.S. prisons   including juveniles and people with mental illnesses. As many as 25,000 inmates are serving months, even years of their sentences alone in a tiny cell, with almost no human contact.Research suggests that solitary confinement has the potential to lead to devastating, lasting psychological consequences. It has been linked to depression, alienation, withdrawal, a reduced ability to interact with others and the potential for violent behavior. Some studies indicate that it can worsen existing mental illnesses and even trigger new ones. Prisoners in solitary are more likely to commit suicide, especially juveniles and people with mental illnesses.Source: WaPoHopefully, this will be a first step in what turns out to be a long path of reforms to bring our prison system out of the realm of  cruel and unusual punishment,  as it was intended to be all along.featured image via The Georgia Straight