Experts on the legal and educational issues who are in support of and opposed to vouchers will join the group to help us analyze relevant court decisions, the impact of vouchers in other states, ACLU policy and the positions of other advocacy groups. Study Group co-chairs Debbie Montano and Barbara Miller hope that this pilot program will evolve into a more formal program with multiple study groups. Be sure to leave your address so that background materials can be mailed to you. Inmates are strapped tightly at the ankles, thighs, pelvis, wrists, upper arms, and chest. The inmate's head is turned to one side, and two additional straps hold it firmly against the board.
Movement is impossible.
Inmates don't know if they will be strapped down for ten minutes or ten hours. The ACLU's class action lawsuit was filed on May 21, two weeks after inmate Michael Lewis died after spending several hours strapped to the board, his second time on the board that day. The coroner has determined that the board was a contributing factor. In practice, however, the jail uses the board far too frequently, without appropriate supervision by medical personnel, and in situations where its use or the duration of its use is excessive and unnecessary. Contrary to the Sheriff's denials, the board has been used to punish inmates for such offenses as mouthing off or kicking their cell doors.