Governor Vetoes ‘California Mandela Act’ to limit solitary confinement 

Sacramento, CA – This week, Governor Newsom vetoed Assemblymember Chris Holden’s bill, AB 2632 the California Mandela Act on Solitary Confinement. The bill would place comprehensive limits and oversight on the use of solitary confinement in California’s prisons, jails and private detention facilities. The bill would also ban the use of solitary confinement against pregnant people, as well as individuals in certain age groups or with certain disabilities.

The bill would have placed California among the leading states on the issue of solitary confinement, and would have been the first bill to include limits on private immigration detention facilities. 

“California has a dark history on the issue of solitary confinement, and this bill was our chance to get it right on this issue,” said Assemblymember Chris Holden. “The scientific consensus and the international standards are clear, solitary confinement is torture and there must be limitations and oversight on the practice.”

The bill enjoyed immense support from a broad coalition of organizations as well as solitary survivors who have been working to bring change on the issue in California.

“This is a missed opportunity for leadership and positive change by Governor Newsom. The legislature, the community and solitary survivors are united in our vision for change. We have been fighting for more than a decade to expose the truth about solitary confinement in California and across the country and we will continue to fight. It is torture, and it needs to end.” said Dolores Canales Co-founder of California Families Against Solitary Confinement.

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