HLS 20RS-1313 ORIGINAL
2020 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 42
BY REPRESENTATIVE JAMES
CRIMINAL/SENTENCING: Requests the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to
study the use of solitary confinement in Louisiana
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to gather data on the
3 use of solitary confinement in Louisiana, to collect personal statements from at least
4 two hundred current inmates on their experiences in solitary confinement, and to
5 report its findings to the Louisiana Legislature by May 2021.
6 WHEREAS, according to a recent report by Solitary Watch, the American Civil
7Liberties Union of Louisiana, and the Jesuit Social Research Institute across the United
8States, eighty thousand to one hundred thousand incarcerated people are locked in prison or
9jail cells without any meaningful human interaction for twenty-two to twenty-four hours a
10day for weeks, years, and even decades straight; and
11 WHEREAS, according to the same report, prolonged social isolation can inflict
12permanent psychological and neurological damage and, because of the severe physical and
13mental damage that extreme isolation can cause, the United Nations has warned that the use
14of solitary confinement beyond fifteen days can be tantamount to torture and should be
15banned; and
16 WHEREAS, in 2016, the VERA Institute for Justice found that over seventeen
17percent of people in Louisiana prisons were in solitary confinement, which is almost four
18times the national average; and
19 WHEREAS, the report by Solitary Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union of
20Louisiana, and the Jesuit Social Research Institute, which is based on a survey of over seven
21hundred inmates currently in solitary confinement, raises many questions about the use of
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HCR NO. 42
1solitary confinement in Louisiana prisons and the need for a comprehensive study of solitary
2confinement is clear.
3 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
4urge and request the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to gather basic data on the
5use of solitary confinement in Louisiana, including but not limited to demographic data on
6persons who are in solitary confinement, the duration of each person's solitary confinement,
7and the reasons for placement in solitary confinement. The demographic data gathered by
8the department shall include but is not limited to information on the person's race, sex, and
9age, the offense for which the person was convicted, the length of the person's sentence, the
10number of years the person has been incarcerated, and the number of years remaining on the
11person's sentence. The department shall also collect personal statements from at least two
12hundred current inmates on their experiences in solitary confinement.
13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Public Safety and Corrections
14shall issue a report of its findings to the Louisiana Legislature by May 2021.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be provided
16to the secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 42 Original 2020 Regular Session James
Requests the Dept. of Public Safety and Corrections to gather basic data on the use of
solitary confinement in La., including but not limited to demographic data on persons who
are in solitary confinement, the duration of each person's solitary confinement, and the
reasons for placement in solitary confinement. The department shall also collect personal
statements from at least 200 current inmates on their experiences in solitary confinement.
Requires the department to issue a report of its findings to the legislature by May 2021.
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