Colorado Bill Seeks to Limit Use of Solitary Confinement

Colorado legislators are seeking to limit the number of inmates with mental illness who can be placed into solitary confinement. The legislation would require state prisons to have a physician evaluate inmates with such illnesses as bipolar mood disorders or paranoid schizophrenia before they're placed in solitary confinement. A state report found that the percentage of Colorado inmates with mental health problems who were placed in solitary confinement more than doubled between 1999 and 2008, and many were released from prison without having a chance to readjust to human interaction. (Pueblo Chieftain, 3/13/11)