2016 -- H 7481

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LC003483

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - HUMANE ALTERNATIVES TO

LONG-TERM SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

     Introduced By: Representatives Regunberg, Slater, Barros, Hull, and Bennett

     Date Introduced: February 05, 2016

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Title 42 of the General Laws entitled "STATE AFFAIRS AND

GOVERNMENT" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 56.4

HUMANE ALTERNATIVES TO LONG-TERM SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

     42-56.4-1. Legislative findings. -- The general assembly finds and declares that:

     (1) Unlimited segregated confinement is inhumane and ineffective;

     (2) Subjecting people to segregated confinement without meaningful human contact,

programming, services or therapy often causes deep and permanent psychological, physical, and

developmental harm;

     (3) This harm not only violates common values of decency, but also is counterproductive

because people often have more difficulty complying with prison rules after being placed in

segregated confinement;

     (4) Segregated confinement can be particularly devastating for certain vulnerable people,

including: young or elderly people, pregnant women, and people with disabilities, or histories

including addiction and trauma; and

     (5) The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture concluded that solitary

confinement can amount to torture and recommended abolishing its use beyond fifteen (15) days

and prohibiting any use of solitary confinement for vulnerable groups or for purpose of

punishment.

     42-56.4-2. Definitions. -- As used in this chapter:

     (1) "Emergency Confinement" means confinement in any cell for no more than twenty-

four (24) consecutive hours and no more than forty-eight (48) total hours in any fifteen (15) day

period, with at least one hour of out-of-cell recreation for every twenty-four (24) hours.

     (2) "Extended segregated confinement" means segregated confinement of no more than

fifteen (15) consecutive days and twenty (20) days total within any sixty (60) day period.

     (3) "Residential rehabilitation unit" means secure and separate units used for therapy,

treatment, and rehabilitative programming of people who would be placed in segregated

confinement for more than fifteen (15) days. Such units are therapeutic and trauma-informed, and

aim to address individual treatment and rehabilitation needs and underlying causes of problematic

behaviors.

     (4) "Segregated confinement" means the confinement, other than for emergency

confinement, or for documented medical reasons or mental health emergencies, of an inmate in a

special housing unit or in a separate housing unit or any form of keeplock, or cell confinement for

more than seventeen (17) hours a day other than in a facility-wide lockdown.

     (5) "Short-term segregated confinement" means segregated confinement of no more than

three (3) consecutive days and six (6) days total within any thirty (30) day period.

     (6) "Special housing units and separate keeplock unit" means housing units that consist of

cells grouped so as to provide separation from the general population.

     (7) "Special populations" means any person:

     (i) Twenty-one (21) years of age or younger;

     (ii) Fifty-five (55) years of age or older;

     (iii) Suffering from mental illness or post-traumatic stress disorder;

     (iv) Who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex; or

     (v) With a disability; including physical, mental, or developmental disability.

     42-56.4-3. Limitations. -- (a) Persons in a special population, as defined in this chapter,

shall not be placed in segregated confinement for any length of time. Any such persons who

would otherwise be placed in segregated confinement shall remain in general population or be

diverted to a residential rehabilitation unit. If a person in a special population is placed in

emergency confinement for more than sixteen (16) hours, they shall be allowed out-of-cell at

least four (4) hours.

     (b) No person may be in segregated confinement for longer than necessary and never

more than fifteen (15) consecutive days nor twenty (20) total days within any sixty (60) day

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period. At these limits, persons must be released from segregated confinement or diverted to a

separate secure residential rehabilitation unit.

     (c) All segregated confinement and residential rehabilitation units shall create the least

restrictive environment necessary for the safety of residents, staff, and the security of the facility.

     (d) Persons in segregated confinement shall be allowed out-of-cell at least four (4) hours

per day, including at least one hour for recreation. Persons in residential rehabilitation units shall

be allowed at least six (6) hours per day out-of-cell for programming, services, treatment, and/or

meals, and an additional minimum of one hour for recreation.

      (e) Recreation in all units shall take place in a congregate setting, unless exceptional

circumstances mean doing so would create a significant and unreasonable risk to the safety and

security of other incarcerated persons, staff, or the facility.

     (f) Persons in segregated confinement and residential rehabilitation units shall:

     (1) Receive at least comparable medical and mental health care to general population,

including obstetrical and gynecological services, in a setting ensuring privacy and confidentiality;

     (2) Have their basic needs met in a manner comparable to general population, and never

have restricted diets nor any order restricting any basic need imposed as a form of punishment;

     (3) If in a residential rehabilitation unit be able to retain all their property with them;

     (4) Have comparable access to all services and materials as in general population; and

     (5) Be able to retain program materials, complete program assignments, and continue

upon return all uncompleted programs they were in prior to placement in segregated confinement

or a residential rehabilitation unit.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - HUMANE ALTERNATIVES TO

LONG-TERM SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

***

     This act would limit the time an inmate can spend in segregated confinement, prohibit the

segregated confinement of certain vulnerable persons, and create more humane and effective

methods of instituting such confinement.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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