I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 176 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to impose conditions on the use 
of solitary confinement in Federal prisons, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 4, 2021 
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to impose conditions 
on the use of solitary confinement in Federal prisons, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restricting the Use 
of Solitary Confinement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. SOLITARY CONFINEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 301 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘§ 4015. Solitary confinement 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any placement of an inmate in 
solitary confinement shall comply with the following: 
‘‘(1) An inmate shall not be placed in solitary 
confinement unless there is reasonable cause to be-
lieve that— 
‘‘(A) the inmate would create a substantial 
risk of immediate serious harm to another, as 
evidenced by recent threats or conduct; and 
‘‘(B) a less restrictive intervention would 
be insufficient to reduce this risk. 
The correctional facility shall bear the burden of es-
tablishing this standard by clear and convincing evi-
dence before any agency review. An inmate who 
would create a substantial risk of immediate serious 
harm to self, or who create a substantial risk of im-
mediate serious harm to another because of a med-
ical reason shall be placed in an appropriate medical 
facility. 
‘‘(2) An inmate shall not be placed in solitary 
confinement for non-disciplinary reasons. 
‘‘(3) An inmate shall not be placed in solitary 
confinement before receiving a personal and com-
prehensive medical and mental health examination 
conducted by a clinician. A preliminary examination 
shall be conducted by a member of the medical staff 
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within 12 hours before confinement and the clinical 
examination shall be conducted within 48 hours of 
confinement. 
‘‘(4) An inmate shall only be held in solitary 
confinement pursuant to initial procedures and re-
views which provide timely, fair and meaningful op-
portunities for the inmate to contest the confinement 
in such an administrative proceeding as the Director 
shall establish. These procedures shall include— 
‘‘(A) the right to an initial hearing within 
72 hours of placement and a review every 15 
days thereafter, in the absence of exceptional 
circumstances, unavoidable delays, or reason-
able postponements; 
‘‘(B) the right to appear at the hearing; 
‘‘(C) the right to be represented at the 
hearing pursuant to the Defender Services Pro-
gram of the Department of Justice; 
‘‘(D) an independent hearing officer; and 
‘‘(E) a written statement of reasons for the 
decision made at the hearing. 
‘‘(5) The final decision to place an inmate in 
solitary confinement shall be made by the adminis-
trator of the correctional facility where that inmate 
is held. 
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‘‘(6) An inmate shall not be placed or retained 
in solitary confinement if the administrator deter-
mines that the inmate no longer meets the standard 
for the confinement. 
‘‘(7) A clinician shall evaluate each inmate 
placed in solitary confinement on a daily basis, in a 
confidential setting outside of the cell whenever pos-
sible, to determine whether the inmate is a vulner-
able person. 
‘‘(8) An inmate shall not be placed in solitary 
confinement for more than 15 consecutive days, or 
for more than 20 days during any 60-day period. 
‘‘(9) An inmate held in solitary confinement 
shall not be denied access to food, water, medical 
care including emergency medical care, or any other 
basic necessity. 
‘‘(10) An inmate shall not be directly released 
from solitary confinement to the community during 
the final 180 days of the inmate’s term of incarcer-
ation, unless it is necessary for the safety of the in-
mate, staff, other inmates, or the public. 
‘‘(11) An inmate who is a vulnerable person de-
scribed in subparagraph (B), (E), or (F) of sub-
section (b)(3), who would otherwise be placed in soli-
tary confinement, shall alternately be placed in an 
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appropriate medical or other unit as determined by 
the administrator. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) CLINICIAN.—The term ‘clinician’ means a 
Federal or State licensed physician, except that for 
purposes of mental health evaluations, the term shall 
include a Federal or State licensed psychiatrist or 
psychologist, or an advanced practice nurse or clin-
ical nurse specialist with a specialty in psychiatric 
nursing. 
‘‘(2) SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.—The term ‘soli-
tary confinement’ means confinement of an inmate 
in a correctional facility, pursuant to disciplinary, 
administrative, protective, investigative, medical, or 
other classification, in a cell or similarly confined 
holding or living space, alone or with other inmates, 
for approximately 20 hours or more per day, with 
severely restricted activity, movement, and social 
interaction. 
‘‘(3) VULNERABLE PERSON.—The term ‘vulner-
able person’ means any inmate who— 
‘‘(A) is 25 years of age or younger; 
‘‘(B) is 65 years of age or older; 
‘‘(C) has a disability based on a mental ill-
ness, a history of psychiatric hospitalization, or 
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has recently exhibited conduct, including serious 
self-mutilation, indicating the need for further 
observation or evaluation to determine the pres-
ence of mental illness; 
‘‘(D) has a developmental disability; 
‘‘(E) has a serious medical condition which 
cannot effectively be treated in isolated confine-
ment; 
‘‘(F) is pregnant, is in the postpartum pe-
riod, or has recently suffered a miscarriage or 
terminated a pregnancy; 
‘‘(G) has a significant auditory or visual 
impairment; or 
‘‘(H) is perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisex-
ual, transgender, or intersex.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for such chapter is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘4015. Solitary confinement.’’. 
SEC. 3. REPORT. 
Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Bureau of Prisons shall prepare, in con-
sultation with other entities including human rights advo-
cates, mental health experts, academics, and other profes-
sionals in the correction and rehabilitation area, and 
thereafter submit a report to the Committees on the Judi-
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ciary of the House of Representatives and of the Senate 
with recommendations to reduce the use of solitary con-
finement in Federal prisons to near zero over the 10-year 
period beginning on the date of the submission of the re-
port. 
Æ 
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