IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1178 
Proclaiming a Declaration of Environmental Rights for Incarcerated People. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 29, 2024 
Ms. PRESSLEY 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 sus-
taining an incarceration crisis that has put millions of 
people behind bars, torn families apart, destabilized com-
munities, and allowed others to profit from the mistreat-
ment 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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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 pre-
existing physical or mental health condition or disability, 
which makes incarcerated people more susceptible to en-
vironmental health threats; 
Whereas incarceration and systemic patterns of environ-
mental justice violations in the permitting and siting of 
carceral facilities has greatly increased the exposure of 
incarcerated people, carceral facility staff, and commu-
nities surrounding carceral facilities to toxic and dan-
gerous 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 vital-
ity of incarcerated communities by reducing the avail-
ability of programming in carceral facilities; 
Whereas the adverse environmental health impacts of incar-
ceration 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 mini-
mize exposure to environmental health threats; 
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Whereas privatized healthcare providers profit from the poi-
soning of incarcerated populations and often provide in-
carcerated people with inadequate care; 
Whereas nearly 33 percent of Federal and State prisons are 
located within 3 miles of a federally declared toxic super-
fund site, which are disproportionately located in or near 
low-income communities and communities of color; 
Whereas people incarcerated in prisons and jails often per-
form extremely hazardous labor, including electronic 
waste recycling, forest firefighting, and asbestos removal, 
without sufficient protection and for meager or no com-
pensation, 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 de-
grees 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-incar-
cerated people; 
Whereas poor ventilation in carceral facilities contributes to 
hazardous air quality, which in turn leads to psycho-
logical distress, cognitive impairment, and the prolifera-
tion 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 com-
mon in prison environments can act as a form of torture 
that induces progressively severe mental stress and anx-
iety; 
Whereas incarcerated people with little or no access to nat-
ural 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 incar-
ceration 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 rehabilita-
tive justice: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) declares that incarcerated people have the 
right to healthy and safe environments, and the 
right to advocate for protecting and improving their 
environmental health; 
(2) proclaims this Declaration of Environmental 
Rights for Incarcerated People, founded on the prin-
ciples that— 
(A) incarcerated people have inherent dig-
nity and personhood; 
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(B) the right to humane treatment is invi-
olable and without distinction of any kind, in-
cluding the nature of a crime committed; 
(C) incarcerated people have the right to a 
healthy environment; 
(D) environmental standards in carceral 
facilities should protect the health of the most 
vulnerable people with an adequate margin of 
safety; 
(E) disregard and contempt for the envi-
ronmental health of incarcerated people under-
mines the pursuit of justice; 
(F) the right of incarcerated people to a 
healthy environment should be universally rec-
ognized and protected by law; 
(G) legal remedies for inhumane conditions 
should be universally available to incarcerated 
people and their advocates, without hindrance 
or delay, in courts of law; 
(H) incarcerated people have the right to, 
and should be proactively supplied with, infor-
mation and education regarding exposure path-
ways to environmental hazards in the facilities 
in which they are incarcerated; 
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•HRES 1178 IH 
(I) incarcerated people have the right to 
discuss the environmental health conditions of 
carceral facilities among themselves; 
(J) incarcerated people have the right to 
advocate, without fear or threat of retaliation, 
to protect and improve their environmental 
health; 
(K) incarcerated people have the right to 
refuse to work or labor in unsafe or hazardous 
conditions, and have the right to receive alter-
native work opportunities, without threat of re-
taliation or impact on release decisions; and 
(L) decarceration should serve as a prin-
cipal strategy to reduce the environmental 
health harms of criminal legal systems; and 
(3) supports efforts to enact legislation guided 
by the principles described under paragraph (2). 
Æ 
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