HLS 20RS-2888 ORIGINAL
2020 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 64
BY REPRESENTATIVE JAMES
CRIMINAL/SENTENCING: Requests the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to
study the use of solitary confinement in Louisiana
1 A RESOLUTION
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 House of Representatives of the Louisiana Legislature by
6 May 2021.
7 WHEREAS, according to a recent report by Solitary Watch, the American Civil
8Liberties Union of Louisiana, and the Jesuit Social Research Institute across the United
9States, eighty thousand to one hundred thousand incarcerated people are locked in prison or
10jail cells without any meaningful human interaction for twenty-two to twenty-four hours a
11day for weeks, years, and even decades straight; and
12 WHEREAS, according to the same report, prolonged social isolation can inflict
13permanent psychological and neurological damage and, because of the severe physical and
14mental damage that extreme isolation can cause, the United Nations has warned that the use
15of solitary confinement beyond fifteen days can be tantamount to torture and should be
16banned; and
17 WHEREAS, in 2016, the VERA Institute for Justice found that over seventeen
18percent of people in Louisiana prisons were in solitary confinement, which is almost four
19times the national average; and
20 WHEREAS, the report by Solitary Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union of
21Louisiana, and the Jesuit Social Research Institute, which is based on a survey of over seven
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HR NO. 64
1hundred inmates currently in solitary confinement, raises many questions about the use of
2solitary confinement in Louisiana prisons and the need for a comprehensive study of solitary
3confinement is clear.
4 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
5Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Department of Public Safety and
6Corrections to gather basic data on the use of solitary confinement in Louisiana, including
7but not limited to demographic data on persons who are in solitary confinement, the duration
8of each person's solitary confinement, and the reasons for placement in solitary confinement.
9The demographic data gathered by the department shall include but is not limited to
10information on the person's race, sex, and age, the offense for which the person was
11convicted, the length of the person's sentence, the number of years the person has been
12incarcerated, and the number of years remaining on the person's sentence. The department
13shall also collect personal statements from at least two hundred current inmates on their
14experiences in solitary confinement.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Public Safety and Corrections
16shall issue a report of its findings to the House of Representatives of the Louisiana
17Legislature by May 2021.
18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be provided
19to 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)]
HR 64 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 by May 2021.
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