Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

If you would like to be involved please go to our website and become a member.


Tuesday, April 26, 2011

New rules for solitary confinement considered in Colorado Senate committee :: The Republic

New rules for solitary confinement considered in Colorado Senate committee :: The Republic

DENVER — A bill to limit the number of mentally ill inmates who can be put in solitary confinement in Colorado prisons faces its first vote in the Legislature.

The Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to vote Tuesday on the measure.

The percentage of Colorado inmates with mental health problems who were placed in solitary confinement more than doubled between 1999 and 2008. Many were released from prison without having a chance to readjust to human interaction.

The bill 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. The Department of Corrections opposes the measure, which was first heard last month.

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