An inmate in solitary confinement at a
California jail was refusing to leave his cell.
![California jails use kinder approach to solitary confinement](https://media.zenfs.com/en/ap.org/99b3e663bf9a0791c820717e04b018af)
The jailers' usual response: Send an “extraction team” of corrections officers to burst into the cell and drag him out.
More than a quarter of U.S. states and numerous smaller jurisdictions are looking for ways to reduce the use of solitary confinement, according to the Vera Institute of Justice, which encourages alternatives to a practice behavioral experts say is dehumanizing and can worsen mental illness.