A recent survey lists Delaware as one of only four states no longer using restrictive housing as a disciplinary measure in its prison system.
The 2019 survey was published earlier this month by the Correctional Leaders Association at Yale Law School.
It includes Delaware along with Colorado, Vermont and North Dakota as the only states that have completely done away with the use of restrictive housing in state prisons.
This means under no circumstances are prisoners not allowed at least two hours a day outside of their cell, and will never be held in disciplinary detention for more than 15 straight days. Inmates in disciplinary detention receive 10 hours per week of recreation.
Delaware Dept.of Correction Commissioner Claire DeMatteis says they also receive therapy.
“And while they’re in this residential treatment unit, they get specialized counselling trying to help them understand why they are acting out, trying to help them understand their mental health issues,” said DeMatteis.
The survey found Delaware to have more than twice the rate of severe mental illness in its prison population when compared to the rest of the country. It says more than 16 percent of male inmates and just under 35 percent of female inmates are considered mentally ill statewide.
DeMatteis touts the statewide elimination of restrictive housing as making prisons safer.
“When an inmate has to be disciplined, and there are many, many times every day that an inmate needs to be disciplined, let’s combine that with residential treatment and therapy and counselling so that we can stop this repetitive behavior and actually help the inmate get better,” she said.
There are currently more than 3,400 inmates in Delaware prisons.
