&gt; More than 50 people have been in solitary confinement for longer than five years. At the same time, the average length of stay in isolation has gone down, to 190 days as of December from 225 days last year.<p>For me, this is a gut-wrenching statistic.  Solitary confinement is a horrendously brutal form of punishment and if used at all, I believe it must be used very sparingly.<p>&gt;The agreement establishes a maximum sentence of three months for most disciplinary violations, except assaults, and 30 days for almost any prisoner who has committed a nonviolent infraction for the first time. Isolation will no longer be imposed for first-time violations for drug use or possession, which in the past accounted for as much as one-fifth of the solitary population.<p>&gt;The number of infractions punishable by solitary confinement will be cut in half, and violations that once gave corrections officers wide discretion to impose long sentences, such as “disobeying orders,” will now have a maximum of 30 days.<p>These are significant improvements and those responsible should feel very proud.