Nevada’s Solitary Confinement Has a Documented Racial Disparity
Black people account for 45% of those held in solitary confinement in Nevada state prisons, even though the Nevada Department of Corrections estimates its overall prison population is roughly 40% Black. Nevada lawmakers confronted corrections officials with that data at a June 17, 2026 interim Judiciary Committee hearing. NDOC did not bring a precise racial breakdown of its full prison population to the hearing, so lawmakers could not calculate the disparity exactly.
45% of people placed in solitary confinement in Nevada prisons last year were Black, per NDOC data presented to the Judiciary Committee on June 17, 2026.
The gap matters because Senate Bill 307, passed during Nevada’s 2023 legislative session, requires NDOC to use solitary confinement only as a last resort, for the shortest period safely possible. The department acknowledged a spike in solitary use in 2025, tied to a facility swap between Ely State Prison and High Desert State Prison, while claiming an overall downward trend.
Staffing Gaps Are Blocking the 2023 Law’s Core Review Requirement
SB 307 requires a multidisciplinary team, including a licensed mental health clinician, to review anyone held in solitary for 15 consecutive days. Don Southworth, chief of NDOC’s offender management division, told lawmakers that the law’s definition of “licensed mental health clinician” does not match the job classification standards NDOC uses to hire its current mental health staff. That mismatch has left the department out of compliance with one of the law’s central safeguards.
“It is the goal of the Department of Corrections to completely eliminate the use of solitary confinement within our department.”
Don Southworth, Chief of Offender Management Division, NDOC, June 17, 2026
Southworth said more than 70% of people currently in solitary are there for safety reasons rather than punishment, including people who requested placement out of fear. That does not exempt NDOC from SB 307’s review requirements.
Trans Prisoner Protections From 2023 Are Not Consistently Enforced
Senate Bill 153, also from the 2023 session, required NDOC to adopt specific standards for the supervision, housing, and medical and mental health treatment of incarcerated transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary people. Before that bill passed, gender-diverse people in Nevada prisons reported that the absence of clear protections left them exposed to violence and sexual assault. The June 17 hearing produced no evidence that NDOC has consistently put those standards into practice.
Lawmakers are still in monitoring mode, which means the protections exist on paper but their real-world effect remains unverified.
What You Can Do Now
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Contact the Nevada Judiciary Committee through the Nevada Legislature’s member directory and ask members to require NDOC to submit a written compliance report covering SB 153 implementation and SB 307 staffing timelines. The committee is the body with direct oversight authority here.
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Call the NDOC Director’s office at (775) 887-3285 and ask when the department plans to hire licensed mental health clinicians who meet SB 307’s legal standard, and how many of those positions are currently filled versus vacant.
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Contact the Nevada NAACP State Conference at naacpnv.org and share the 45% statistic. Ask them to file a formal public records request with NDOC for a complete racial breakdown of solitary confinement placements by year, going back to 2023 when the reform law passed.
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Reach the ACLU of Nevada at (702) 366-1226 and ask whether the organization is monitoring SB 153 compliance. If you or someone you know is incarcerated in Nevada and has been denied trans-protective housing or medical accommodations, the ACLU accepts complaints and can pursue legal action.
Sources
Nevada Current: Lawmakers Question Prison Regs on Trans Protections and Solitary
Nevada Legislature: Senate Bill 153, 2023 Session, Standards for Trans Incarcerated People
Nevada Legislature: Senate Bill 307, 2023 Session, Limits on Solitary Confinement
The Marshall Project: What the Data Says About Solitary Confinement and Race
ACLU: Know Your Rights for Transgender People in Prison