Solitary confinement and strip searches of girls in Texas youth prison

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas filed a class action lawsuit on June 12 on behalf of five girls–all of whom have histories of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse–held in the Brownwood State School. Brownwood is a "high security" youth prison located in central Texas and operated by the Texas Youth Commission (TYC), the state's juvenile corrections agency. The ACLU charges that TYC subjects the girls to unwarranted solitary confinement, routine strip searches and brutal physical force. "Throwing children into cold, bare solitary confinement cells is profoundly damaging, especially to children who previously have been abused," said Mie Lewis, staff attorney with the ACLU Women's Rights Project. "The ACLU has closely monitored developments in the Texas Youth Commission over the last year, and although we see some improvements, TYC's reliance on solitary confinement has to stop." The ACLU charges that the treatment the girls have suffered violates their constitutional rights under the Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments as well as international standards protecting children from abuse and prohibiting torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The lawsuit was filed in US District Court for the Western District of Texas. "We are optimistic that we can meet with the defendants soon and come to an amicable solution," said Lenora Lapidus, Director of the ACLU Women's Rights Project. "It's in the interests of both the children and TYC to stop these practices." Brownwood State School serves as the reception site for all girls committed to TYC custody and nearly all girls in custody in Texas are held there. Brownwood holds approximately 150 girls who have been sent there for offenses ranging from school-related disciplinary infractions to minor property offenses and more serious offenses. Girls at Brownwood are regularly placed in punitive solitary confinement in oppressively cold, concrete cells, empty except for a metal slab intended to be used as a bed. Solitary confinement is imposed for minor misbehavior, for self-harm or for expressing a desire to commit self-harm. Terms of solitary confinement can be brief or can last for days, weeks and even months. Upon entering or exiting solitary confinement and on other occasions when they have not left the facility -- for example, when they finish a work assignment within the prison -- girls are subject to invasive strip searches. When girls resist, guards regularly use physical force, pepper spray, handcuffs and leather straps to force them to comply. These tactics are also used on girls already in solitary confinement in response to self-harm, shouting, and banging on the wall. Girls subjected to this treatment report suffering flashbacks to childhood rapes and feeling degraded, humiliated and afraid. "The link between psychological trauma and delinquent behavior is well established," said Lisa Graybill, Legal Director of the ACLU of Texas. "Instead of helping girls learn to cope with their experiences, TYC is re-traumatizing them through the use of solitary confinement and strip searches. TYC must do better, for the sake of our clients and all children in the state's custody."