SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The first-ever quarterly report from the New Mexico Corrections Department on its use of solitary confinement shows about 4% of inmates are held alone in a cell for at least 22 hours a day.
The report shows the top reason inmates were held in solitary during the past three months was because they were awaiting court hearings.
The second most common reason was that they were awaiting transfer to another facility.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that while some of these inmates spent just a day or two in isolation, many spent weeks or even months awaiting their next hearing or a transfer.
The report was mandated by legislation approved earlier this year that restricts the use of solitary confinement for pregnant, juvenile and mentally ill inmates.