SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IN RHODE ISLAND
Who's in Solitary?
As a result of the 2016-17 Solitary Confinement Legislative Study commission, RIDOC creates quarterly data reports on the restrictive housing population, which are available by Access of Public Records Act requests
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84 individuals in restrictive housing at RIDOC
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33 of whom were in Administrative Confinement
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51 of whom were in Disciplinary Confinement
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Two individuals were in solitary confinement for substance abuse for 15-30 days
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13 individuals were in solitary for "disobedience," 1 person for less than 15 days and 12 people for 15-30 days
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The most frequent infractions that lead to time in solitary confinement are "violence," and six people currently have been in solitar for over 120 days for this infraction​
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Individuals in Restrictive Housing for the longest time are usually in High Side
RIDOC's reports on its restrictive housing population do not contain information on age, sexuality, or mental health. This is notable because people who are young, are LGBTQ+, or have a severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) are more likely to have spent time in solitary confinement​
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From April, 2015 to September, 2016, 1,005 incarcerated individuals were in Disciplinary Confinement at RIDOC. Ninety of these individuals, or 9% of those in Disciplinary Confinement had SPMI (serious and persistent mental illness), for whom solitary confinement exacerbates symptoms.
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Per the final report of the RI Solitary Confinement Study Commission, RIDOC pledged to exclude individuals who are pregnant or have SPMI from restrictive housing
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However, Disability Rights Rhode Island sued the RI Department of Corrections for keeping individuals with SPMI to solitary confinement in 2019. The lawsuit is ongoing.