On March 11, 2013, the Disability Rights Network (DRN), a Pennsylvania non-profit, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania against the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PDOC). DRN alleged that the PDOC violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment in its use of solitary confinement "Restrictive Housing Units" (RHUs). There are no prisoner plaintiffs, and the case is not a class action; DRN has been designated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as an entity that can advocate for and protect the rights of Pennsylvanians with mental illness, pursuant to the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 10801-07.

According to the complaint, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections violated the rights of prisoners with severe mental illness by creating a cycle of solitary confinement and mental deterioration through the use of RHUs. DRN alleged that the PDOC regularly disciplined mentally ill prisoners for behavior symptomatic of their mental illnesses, and failed to take account of the role of mental illness in their behavior and the particularly detrimental effect of solitary confinement on the mentally ill, whose conditions worsened when deprived of human contact and adequate treatment. DRN further alleged that the PDOC did not maintain adequate therapeutic alternatives to RHUs for the number of mentally ill prisoners in the system and that PDOC nevertheless underutilized the treatment facilities it had by placing mentally ill prisoners in solitary confinement, even when there were significant numbers of beds available in appropriate treatment programs.

On January 5, 2015, the parties executed a Settlement Agreement providing for the dismissal of the matter without prejudice and retention of limited jurisdiction by the Court to enforce the agreement. In accordance with the parties' wishes, the Court dismissed the matter on January 15, 2015. Under the terms of the agreement, the PDOC neither admitted nor conceded any liability, wrongdoing, or violation of law, but agreed to continue with the implementation of specified improvements to its policies, practices, and facilities, under the supervisions of DRN. In particular, under the settlement, the PDOC will evaluate all incoming prisoners for serious mental illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder, and will place prisoners with serious mental illness in the RHUs only in "exceptional" circumstances; even then, a prisoner with serious mental illness can be kept in solitary confinement for no longer than 30 days and must be allowed out of their cells for 20 hours per week. The settlement provided for a monitor to report on compliance.

The PDOC also agreed to pay DRN $750,000, in full satisfaction of all existing claims, fees, and costs. On May 5, 2015 the parties jointly filed an addendum to the settlement agreement. As of June 3, 2015 the case is ongoing: the settlement agreement provided that it would remain in effect for 3 years (less if the defendant could demonstrate substantial compliance for a period of 18 months). If the plaintiffs feel during that three years that the defendant is in noncompliance, the settlement specifies a procedure to follow, which could lead to an order of specific performance if the court agrees.

Kenneth Gray - 07/23/2013
Robert Lake - 06/05/2015


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