Solitary Confinement in New Mexico: A Review of Policies, Practices, and Inmate Experiences in Isolation

Today, the ACLU of New Mexico released a report conducted in concert with University of New Mexico New Mexico researchers, revealing the state’s rate of solitary confinement is more than double what the New Mexico Corrections Department reports. After requesting data under New Mexico’s public records law about how the department calculates solitary confinement, the researchers determined that NMDC failed to include into its calculations several units and security levels where inmates are confined for more than 22 hours a day, leading to a misestimation of the total population in isolation. At a rate of nine percent, New Mexico ranks among the top five states with the greatest percent of inmates in solitary confinement.