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Rick Raemisch -- Colorado DOC Executive Director-- a worthy successor to Tom Clements -- that's saying a lot, a whole lot.,

My Night in Solitary

By RICK RAEMISCH
FEB. 20, 2014

NY Times Op-Ed Piece - to see full article click Title or Pictures

But every prison in America has become a dumping ground for the mentally ill, and often the “worst of the worst” — some of society’s most unsound minds — are dumped in Ad Seg.

If an inmate acts up, we slam a steel door on him. Ad Seg allows a prison to run more efficiently for a period of time, but by placing a difficult offender in isolation you have not solved the problem — only delayed or more likely exacerbated it, not only for the prison, but ultimately for the public. Our job in corrections is to protect the community, not to release people who are worse than they were when they came in.

Terry Kupers, a psychiatrist and expert on confinement, described in a paper published last year the many psychological effects of solitary. Inmates reported nightmares, heart palpitations and “fear of impending nervous breakdowns.” He pointed to research from the 1980s that found that a third of those studied had experienced “paranoia, aggressive fantasies, and impulse control problems ... In almost all instances the prisoners had not previously experienced any of these psychiatric reactions.”

Too often, these prisoners are “maxed out,” meaning they are released from solitary directly into society. In Colorado, in 2012, 140 people were released into the public from Ad Seg; last year, 70; so far in 2014, two.
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Tom Clements, a reformer's reformer, pragmatic, caring, visionary. His life has inspired and continues to inspire many. Murdered by Evan Ebel who was ironically released directly from administrative segregation to the community -- a practice Tom Clements was trying to stop.
Other States' DOC Olmstead Plans

Links to Iowa's and Minnesota's Departments of Corrections'  Olmstead Plans
(we are not saying  these are adequate plans, only that it is appropriate & necessary for CDOC  to have an Olmstead Plan and legally it needs to be adequate and should include
significant and substantial stakeholder input).  Click Here.
Office of Behavioral Health Services to People Involved with Criminal Justice

Colorado Office of Behavioral Health services to people  involved with criminal justice 
(Our  take-- like the old 12-step adage "Half-measures availed us nothing" -- while
this isn't nothing, and represents a lot of good work on the part of many people
-- it does feel like a drop in the ocean).  
Click Here.
Fun/Scary Facts:
  • The Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo has 451 beds, 144 civil and 307 coming from the criminal justice system.