The SHU hearings in Sacramento yesterday were a success from the inmates' rights perspective. The Sac Bee reports:
Corrections officials have touted a new pilot program allowing inmates to ease their way out of solitary confinement, and regulations recently submitted to the Office of Administrative Law would allow the pilot to be applied throughout the prison system.
But legislators seemed skeptical that the changes would substantially reduce the practice of walling off inmates in the "Security Housing Units," or SHU, that exist in four state prisons.
But wait! There's more!
Later in the day, Ammiano announced a bill that would cap "administrative" terms in the SHU - those not related to a specific incident, which would include stays stemming from gang affiliation - at 36 months. The legislation would also allow inmates to exit more quickly by accumulating good behavior credits.
1 comment:
Great article on the effects of isolation, generally and in prison, on humans, animals...and John McCain:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/30/090330fa_fact_gawande
It's a bit lengthy, but if you get tired, skip to the end where they talk about solutions with good examples from the Brits and why changes aren't happening in the US.
Just for "fun" check this out, a good example of how the Brits learned the hard way:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4PyMY--RnU
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