A civil rights claims lawyer has lauded another attorney's decision to file a lawsuit against the Pennsylvania prison system for its purported mistreatment of disabled prisoners. According to online sources like The Times Leader, the complaint was filed Monday, March 11, and alleged that correctional facilities treated prisoners badly in a way that led to their misbehavior. These men and women were then unfairly placed in solitary confinement, also called restrictive housing units (RHU).
There are 12 specific cases that the court papers mention in which offenders were disciplined using unconstitutional confinement. The goal of the suit is to mandate that Pennsylvania offer better mental health services to those behind bars and institute a system that takes into account the psychological state of an individual.
''This is a vile and inhumane way to treat people with mental illness. As one judge put it, solitary confinement for a person with a mental illness is like an airless room for an asthmatic. Pennsylvania should give these prisoners beds in units designed to help people with mental illness, not devastate them," said the prosecuting attorney, who works for Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania.
Another criticism of locking prisoners away in RHU is that the cells are unfairly small. They also don't allow fresh air to circulate or sunlight in. The inmates are confined to their living quarters for 23 hours a day.
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