WHB/3/1
Sponsored by Rylee Nelson, Ben Rencher, Drew Miller of Brentwood High School
This legislation was filed in the Correction category
Presented as part of the YIG Volunteer 2024 conference
| 1 | BE IT ENACTED BY THE TENNESSEE YMCA YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Section 1: Terms in this act will be defined as follows: |
| 4 | Solitary Confinement: The practice of confining an inmate to a cell alone for the majority of the |
| 5 | day, typically for 22 to 24 hours per day, with limited human interaction, socialization, and sensory |
| 6 | stimulation. |
| 7 | |
| 8 | Section 2: In the state of Tennessee, prisoners confined to solitary confinement on average spend |
| 9 | 1-3 months in isolation (each offense only able to hold 30 days of time) with longer sentences |
| 10 | being at upwards of that. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Section 3: This act will apply to all state penitentiaries under the jurisdiction of the state of |
| 13 | Tennessee. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | Section 4: Solitary confinement shall be banned as a punishment for all prisoners in the state of |
| 16 | Tennessee. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Section 5: The implementation of this act is estimated to cost $10,000 and will be funded through |
| 19 | the Tennessee Department of Corrections budget. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | Section 6: All laws or parts of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | Section 7: This act shall take effect on September 1, 2025, to allow for necessary preparations and |
| 24 | adjustments to be made. The public welfare requiring it. |
| 25 |