Colorado Senate Approves Solitary Confinement Curb

DENVER (AP) - A proposal aimed at reducing the use of solitary confinement for prisoners with serious mental illness has won unanimous approval in the state Senate.

Senators voted 34-0 for the bill to support efforts by the state Department of Corrections to set new standards for the use of solitary confinement. The measure now heads to the House.

The bill originally would have required prisons to review the mental health of prisoners in solitary confinement every 90 days. The bill was changed to simply set up an advisory board. The Department says it is already making significant changes to mental health treatment and solitary confinement.

Tom Clements (credit: State of Colorado)

The bill comes a year after former chief of Corrections Tom Clements was assassinated. The lone suspect was a former prisoner who was mentally ill and held in solitary confinement.

LINK: Senate Bill 64

Related Stories