Contact: Rep. Crowley, 608.266.5580
MADISON, WI – State Representative David Crowley (D-Milwaukee), Chair of the Milwaukee Legislative Caucus, issued the following statement today, following the unveiling of a bill to reform the use of solitary confinement with inmates with severe mental illnesses.
“The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners states that the use of solitary confinement should be prohibited in cases of prisoners with mental disabilities. Unfortunately, here in Wisconsin and in much of the United States that is not the case. This bill would be a step in the right direction to ensure that individuals are receiving medical diagnoses and that those who have been diagnosed are not placed in confinement that could potentially exasperate their condition.
“Currently there are 18 states that already restrict or prohibit the use of isolation for inmates with mental illness. It is time that Wisconsin gets on the right side of this issue.”
