I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 901 

To place restrictions on the use of solitary confinement for juveniles in 

Federal custody. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2017 

Mr. CUMMINGS (for himself, Mrs. LOVE, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. JACKSON LEE, 

Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Ms. BASS, and Mr. LABRADOR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To place restrictions on the use of solitary confinement for 

juveniles in Federal custody. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Maintaining dignity 

5 and Eliminating unnecessary Restrictive Confinement of 

6 Youths Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘MERCY Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. JUVENILE SOLITARY CONFINEMENT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 403 of title 18, United 

3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘§ 5043. Juvenile solitary confinement 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

7 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered juvenile’ means— 

8 ‘‘(A) a juvenile who— 

9 ‘‘(i) is being proceeded against under 

10 this chapter for an alleged act of juvenile 

11 delinquency; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) has been adjudicated delinquent 

13 under this chapter; or 

14 ‘‘(B) a juvenile who is being proceeded 

15 against as an adult in a district court of the 

16 United States for an alleged criminal offense; 

17 ‘‘(2) the term ‘juvenile facility’ means any facil18 ity where covered juveniles are— 

19 ‘‘(A) committed pursuant to an adjudica20 tion of delinquency under this chapter; or 

21 ‘‘(B) detained prior to disposition or con22 viction; and 

23 ‘‘(3) the term ‘room confinement’ means the in24 voluntary placement of a covered juvenile alone in a 

25 cell, room, or other area for any reason. 


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1 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON ROOM CONFINEMENT IN JU2 VENILE FACILITIES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The use of room confine4 ment at a juvenile facility for discipline, punishment, 

5 retaliation, or any reason other than as a temporary 

6 response to a covered juvenile’s behavior that poses 

7 a serious and immediate risk of physical harm to 

8 any individual, including the covered juvenile, is pro9 hibited. 

10 ‘‘(2) JUVENILES POSING RISK OF HARM.— 

11 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT TO USE LEAST RE12 STRICTIVE TECHNIQUES.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Before a staff 

14 member of a juvenile facility places a cov15 ered juvenile in room confinement, the 

16 staff member shall attempt to use less re17 strictive techniques, including— 

18 ‘‘(I) talking with the covered ju19 venile in an attempt to de-escalate the 

20 situation; and 

21 ‘‘(II) permitting a qualified men22 tal health professional, or a staff 

23 member who has received training in 

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1 informed care, to talk to the covered 

2 juvenile. 

3 ‘‘(ii) EXPLANATION.—If, after at4 tempting to use less restrictive techniques 

5 as required under clause (i), a staff mem6 ber of a juvenile facility decides to place a 

7 covered juvenile in room confinement, the 

8 staff member shall first— 

9 ‘‘(I) explain to the covered juve10 nile the reasons for the room confine11 ment; and 

12 ‘‘(II) inform the covered juvenile 

13 that release from room confinement 

14 will occur— 

15 ‘‘(aa) immediately when the 

16 covered juvenile regains self-con17 trol, as described in subpara18 graph (B)(i); or 

19 ‘‘(bb) not later than after 

20 the expiration of the time period 

21 described in subclause (I) or (II) 

22 of subparagraph (B)(ii), as appli23 cable. 

24 ‘‘(B) MAXIMUM PERIOD OF CONFINE25 MENT.—If a covered juvenile is placed in room 


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1 confinement because the covered juvenile poses 

2 a serious and immediate risk of physical harm 

3 to himself or herself, or to others, the covered 

4 juvenile shall be released— 

5 ‘‘(i) immediately when the covered ju6 venile has sufficiently gained control so as 

7 to no longer engage in behavior that 

8 threatens serious and immediate risk of 

9 physical harm to himself or herself, or to 

10 others; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) if a covered juvenile does not suf12 ficiently gain control as described in clause 

13 (i), not later than— 

14 ‘‘(I) 3 hours after being placed in 

15 room confinement, in the case of a 

16 covered juvenile who poses a serious 

17 and immediate risk of physical harm 

18 to others; or 

19 ‘‘(II) 30 minutes after being 

20 placed in room confinement, in the 

21 case of a covered juvenile who poses a 

22 serious and immediate risk of physical 

23 harm only to himself or herself. 

24 ‘‘(C) RISK OF HARM AFTER MAXIMUM PE25 RIOD OF CONFINEMENT.—If, after the applicaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Feb 14, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H901.IH H901

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1 ble maximum period of confinement under sub2 clause (I) or (II) of subparagraph (B)(ii) has 

3 expired, a covered juvenile continues to pose a 

4 serious and immediate risk of physical harm de5 scribed in that subclause— 

6 ‘‘(i) the covered juvenile shall be 

7 transferred immediately to another juvenile 

8 facility or internal location where services 

9 can be provided to the covered juvenile 

10 without relying on room confinement; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) if a qualified mental health pro12 fessional believes the level of crisis service 

13 needed is not currently available, a staff 

14 member of the juvenile facility shall imme15 diately transport the juvenile to— 

16 ‘‘(I) an emergency medical facil17 ity; or 

18 ‘‘(II) an equivalent location that 

19 can meet the needs of the covered ju20 venile. 

21 ‘‘(D) ACTION BEFORE EXPIRATION OF

22 TIME LIMIT.—Nothing in subparagraph (C) 

23 shall be construed to prohibit an action de24 scribed in clause (i) or (ii) of that subparagraph 

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1 imum period of confinement under subclause (I) 

2 or (II) of subparagraph (B)(ii) has expired. 

3 ‘‘(E) CONDITIONS.—A room used for room 

4 confinement for a juvenile shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) have not less than 80 square feet 

6 of floor space; 

7 ‘‘(ii) have adequate lighting, heating 

8 or cooling (as applicable), and ventilation 

9 for the comfort of the juvenile; 

10 ‘‘(iii) be suicide-resistant and protru11 sion-free; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) have access to clean potable 

13 water, toilet facilities, and hygiene sup14 plies. 

15 ‘‘(F) NOTICE.— 

16 ‘‘(i) USE OF ROOM CONFINEMENT.— 

17 Not later than 1 business day after the 

18 date on which a juvenile facility places a 

19 covered juvenile in room confinement, the 

20 juvenile facility shall provide notice to the 

21 attorney of record for the juvenile. 

22 ‘‘(ii) TRANSFER.—Not later than 24 

23 hours after a covered juvenile is trans24 ferred from a juvenile facility to another 


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1 location, the juvenile facility shall provide 

2 notice to— 

3 ‘‘(I) the attorney of record for 

4 the juvenile; and 

5 ‘‘(II) an authorized parent or 

6 guardian of the juvenile. 

7 ‘‘(G) SPIRIT AND PURPOSE.—The use of 

8 consecutive periods of room confinement to 

9 evade the spirit and purpose of this subsection 

10 shall be prohibited. 

11 ‘‘(c) STUDY AND REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 

12 after the date of enactment of this section, and each year 

13 thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress 

14 a report that— 

15 ‘‘(1) contains a detailed description of the type 

16 of physical force, restraints, and room confinement 

17 used at juvenile facilities; 

18 ‘‘(2) describes the number of instances in which 

19 physical force, restraints, or room confinement are 

20 used at juvenile facilities, disaggregated by race, eth21 nicity, and gender; and 

22 ‘‘(3) contains a detailed description of steps 

23 taken, in each instance in which room confinement 

24 is used at a juvenile facility, to address and remedy 

25 the underlying issue that led to behavioral intervenVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:52 Feb 14, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H901.IH H901

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1 tion resulting in the use of room confinement, in2 cluding any positive or negative outcomes.’’. 

3 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

4 The table of sections for chapter 403 of title 18, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

‘‘5043. Juvenile solitary confinement.’’. 

Æ 


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