SB 176: Concerning Appropriate Use of Restrictive Confinement

It will end the all-too-common practice of warehousing prisoners with serious mental illness in solitary confinement. The bill would require a mental health evaluation for prisoners before they are placed in solitary and permit such isolation only in extreme situations. It also would support mental and behavioral health alternatives to solitary confinement through cost-saving mechanisms and ensure that prisoners are reintegrated into the general prison population before their community release.

The bill sets forth the requirements to be met before a state inmate, including an offender with a serious mental illness or other significant mental impairment, may be placed in administrative segregation and the requirements for release, including mental health evaluations.

Resources

Bill text

Fact Sheet

Watch National Geographic Explorer episode on Solitary in Colorado