By C1 Staff
Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (CLASI) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced a lawsuit at a press conference Thursday morning against the Del. prison system for allegedly holding at least 100 inmates with mental illnesses in solitary confinement.
The lawsuit claims the treatment of mentally ill inmates violates the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, according to Delaware Online.
“At the James T. Vaugn Correctional Center in Smyrna, people with mental illnesses have been warehoused in solitary confinement for years on end, living in 8’x11’ cells for 23 to 24 hours a day,” said CLASI Executive Director Daniel Atkins. “They are isolated from almost all contact with other human beings and receive virtually no meaningful mental health treatment.”
About 300 inmates in Smyrna are held in Secure Housing Units, of which about 100 were identified as having a mental illness, according to CLASI.