III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 648 

Proclaiming a Declaration of Environmental Rights for Incarcerated People. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 18, 2024 

Mr. MARKEY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Proclaiming a Declaration of Environmental Rights for 

Incarcerated People. 

Whereas criminal legal systems in the United States are sustaining an incarceration crisis that has put millions of 

people behind bars, torn families apart, destabilized communities, and allowed others to profit from the mistreatment of human beings; 

Whereas, in the United States, almost 2,000,000 people are 

incarcerated in Federal, State, local, and Tribal prisons 

and jails, immigration detention facilities, juvenile secure 

facilities, and treatment and rehabilitation facilities; 

Whereas the duration of prison sentences is trending upwards 

and nearly 57 percent of the Federal and State prison 

population is now serving a sentence of 10 years or more; 


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•SRES 648 IS 

Whereas every year of incarceration in a prison or jail for a 

person is associated with a 2-year reduction in average 

life expectancy; 

Whereas people incarcerated in prisons and jails are more 

likely than the general public to have at least 1 preexisting physical or mental health condition or disability, 

which makes incarcerated people more susceptible to environmental health threats; 

Whereas incarceration and systemic patterns of environmental justice violations in the permitting and siting of 

carceral facilities has greatly increased the exposure of 

incarcerated people, carceral facility staff, and communities surrounding carceral facilities to toxic and dangerous conditions; 

Whereas toxic environments in and around carceral facilities 

harm the physical, mental, and social well-being of those 

impacted by incarceration; 

Whereas exposure to environmental hazards harms the vitality of incarcerated communities by reducing the availability of programming in carceral facilities; 

Whereas the adverse environmental health impacts of incarceration disproportionately harm Black people and other 

minorities in the United States, including Indigenous, 

Latino, and LGBTQ+ people, who are more likely to be 

incarcerated in the United States; 

Whereas pregnant, post-natal, and breastfeeding people are 

at higher risk of adverse health outcomes from exposure 

to environmental stressors in carceral facilities, yet those 

people often lack proper medical care or options to minimize exposure to environmental health threats; 


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Whereas privatized healthcare providers profit from the poisoning of incarcerated populations and often provide incarcerated people with inadequate care; 

Whereas nearly 33 percent of Federal and State prisons are 

located within 3 miles of a federally declared toxic superfund site, which are disproportionately located in or near 

low-income communities and communities of color; 

Whereas people incarcerated in prisons and jails often perform extremely hazardous labor, including electronic 

waste recycling, forest firefighting, and asbestos removal, 

without sufficient protection and for meager or no compensation, with the average hourly wage for incarcerated 

workers being as low as $0.14 and some incarcerated 

workers earning no wages at all; 

Whereas measurements of heat indices inside prison cells 

have ranged from below freezing to in excess of 150 degrees Fahrenheit; 

Whereas incarcerated people often drink and bathe in water 

contaminated with lead, arsenic, manganese, harmful 

bacteria, and other hazardous substances and do not 

have the same access to safer alternatives as non-incarcerated people; 

Whereas poor ventilation in carceral facilities contributes to 

hazardous air quality, which in turn leads to psychological distress, cognitive impairment, and the proliferation of infectious respiratory diseases, allergens, and 

other respiratory issues; 

Whereas incarcerated people are commonly confined to spaces 

where they are exposed to mold, asbestos, and pests; 

Whereas the diets of incarcerated people are regularly below 

standards requisite for good health; 


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Whereas food safety standards and preparation guidelines are 

not uniformly enforced and followed in carceral facilities; 

Whereas the constant noise and artificial light that is common in prison environments can act as a form of torture 

that induces progressively severe mental stress and anxiety; 

Whereas incarcerated people with little or no access to natural light are more likely to be depressed and engage in 

harmful behavior that can extend the duration of their 

incarceration; 

Whereas conditions of incarceration should be conducive to 

rehabilitation; 

Whereas the cumulative and chronic health impacts of incarceration can transform short sentences into long-term or 

lifelong punishment; and 

Whereas many incarcerated people endure conditions that are 

cruel, inhumane, unsafe, and not conducive to rehabilitative justice: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) declares that incarcerated people have the 

3 right to healthy and safe environments, and the 

4 right to advocate for protecting and improving their 

5 environmental health; and 

6 (2) proclaims this Declaration of Environmental 

7 Rights for Incarcerated People, founded on the prin8 ciples that— 

9 (A) incarcerated people have inherent dig10 nity and personhood; 


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1 (B) the right to humane treatment is invi2 olable and without distinction of any kind, in3 cluding the nature of a crime committed; 

4 (C) incarcerated people have the right to a 

5 healthy environment; 

6 (D) environmental standards in carceral 

7 facilities should protect the health of the most 

8 vulnerable people with an adequate margin of 

9 safety; 

10 (E) disregard and contempt for the envi11 ronmental health of incarcerated people under12 mines the pursuit of justice; 

13 (F) the right of incarcerated people to a 

14 healthy environment should be universally rec15 ognized and protected by law; 

16 (G) legal remedies for inhumane conditions 

17 should be universally available to incarcerated 

18 people and their advocates, without hindrance 

19 or delay, in courts of law; 

20 (H) incarcerated people have the right to, 

21 and should be proactively supplied with, infor22 mation and education regarding exposure path23 ways to environmental hazards in the facilities 

24 in which they are incarcerated; 


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1 (I) incarcerated people have the right to 

2 discuss the environmental health conditions of 

3 carceral facilities among themselves; 

4 (J) incarcerated people have the right to 

5 advocate, without fear or threat of retaliation, 

6 to protect and improve their environmental 

7 health; 

8 (K) incarcerated people have the right to 

9 refuse to work or labor in unsafe or hazardous 

10 conditions, and have the right to receive alter11 native work opportunities, without threat of re12 taliation or impact on release decisions; and 

13 (L) decarceration should serve as a prin14 cipal strategy to reduce the environmental 

15 health harms of criminal legal systems; and 

16 (3) supports efforts to enact legislation guided 

17 by the principles described in paragraph (2). 

Æ 


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