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Amnesty International to El Paso County Sheriff

24 August 1998

John Wesley Anderson, Sheriff
El Paso County Sheriff’s Office
205 South Cascade Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
USA

Dear Sheriff Anderson,

I am writing to express grave concern at the use of multi-point restraints for purposes of controlling inmates in El Paso County. We are aware that this issue is currently under review and we wish to take this opportunity to draw your attention to our concerns.

Amnesty International is a worldwide organization whose work is based on standards contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international treaties and instruments. Under its mandate, Amnesty International seeks the release of prisoners of conscience (people imprisoned for their beliefs or origins who have not used or advocated violence); works for fair trials in political cases; and opposes the death penalty and the torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners in all circumstances.

According to a lawsuit filed on behalf of several inmates who were strapped to a restraint board between August 1997 and May 1998 at the El Paso Criminal Justice Center, Colorado Springs, the board has been routinely used in situations which suggest that it has been used as a front line of control rather than as a last resort when other methods have failed or would clearly be adequate, and without consulting with medical professionals. The lawsuit alleges that inmates have been strapped to the restraint board for up to 12 hours at a time. It also includes testimony from inmates who, while strapped to the board, claim that they had difficulty breathing; that they were forced to urinate and defecate in their clothing; that guards laughed at and taunted them and ignored their complaints of discomfort; that they suffered nightmares and physical injuries afterwards and that they did not know why, or for how long they would be on the board. We are particularly disturbed at the death of Michael Oliver Lewis, an inmate with mental health problems, who died approximately three hours after being strapped to the board at the Center in May 1997, and would be grateful to be informed of the cause of his death. We are also disturbed that a 17 year-old inmate was on one occasion strapped to the restraint board.

Amnesty International acknowledges that there may be occasions in which it is necessary to restrain prisoners for their own protection as a short-term emergency measure. However, in Amnesty International's view, the manner and length of time in which prisoners are alleged to have been restrained on the restraint board at the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center exceeds what could be considered necessary as an emergency measure and constitutes cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in violation of international standards for the humane treatment of prisoners contained under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, both of which have been ratified by the USA. Other relevant standards include the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (SMRTP) which provide that "instruments of restraint such as handcuffs, chains, irons and strait-jackets, shall never be applied as punishment. Further more, chains and irons shall not be used as restraints" (Rule 33). The SMRTP also require that restraints be used restrictively "if other methods of control fail, in order to prevent a prisoner form injuring himself or others" or on medical grounds on the order of a doctor, and that in the former case the medical officer should be consulted at once by the director of the institution. The American Correctional Association in its 1990 standards also specifically prohibits the use of instruments of restraint in any case ... for more time than is absolutely necessary".

In its Standards for Health Services in Correctional Institutions, the American Public Health Association (APHA) states that restraints may be necessary when inmates pose great risk to themselves or others but should only be instituted when all other attempts to calm the inmate have failed and only on the order of a psychiatrist, physician or licensed health professional. Both the APHA and the National Commission for Correctional Health Care provide that restraints should be checked every 15 minutes by mental health, nursing or "health-trained" staff. The APHA standards also provide that restraint orders should be reviewed by a psychiatrist every two hours and must be automatically terminated after four hours unless renewed, with a maximum limit of eight hours. Some jurisdictions specify considerably lesser limits.

We understand that the present policy governing the use of restraints in El Paso County allows for use of the restraint board to be used as a first option for the full restraint of an inmate, and provides no time-limit, despite the recognized health risks involved in immobilizing prisoners in restraints for long periods.

Amnesty International understands that the County proposes to introduce the restraint chair as an alternative to the restraint board. While we welcome the temporary moratorium that has been imposed on the use of the board, we would like to take this opportunity to express our concern regarding the restraint chair. Amnesty International has received disturbing reports about the inappropriate and abusive use of restraint chairs in various jurisdictions across the USA. We are therefore concerned about its potential for misuse. The initial decision to place people in the chair is often taken by guards without appropriate medical evaluation. In some institutions the chair appears to be used as a routine method of control rather than as a crisis measure, and as a punishment for mildly challenging behaviour. In Louisiana, use of the chair was ordered to be discontinued by the authorities responsible for Iberia Parish Jail, after a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in 1996 found that inmates at the jail had been subjected to "cruel and unusual punishment, and physical and mental torture" after being strapped in chairs for extended periods in their own urine and excrement.

Amnesty International urges you to ensure that restraints in El Paso County are applied in a manner consistent with at least the minimum standards set in both US and international standards, as a last resort and solely as an emergency short-term measure to protect an inmate from serious self-harm in a manner consistent with respect for the inherent dignity of all persons. We urge that wherever possible, inmates have access to proper bathroom facilities, and that a strict time limit is imposed on the use of four point restraints. In the event that restraint chairs are introduced into El Paso County, we urge that you will ensure that they will not be used to inflict cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, that there will be strict guidelines and limits on their use, that the use of the chair be recorded in all cases and that the chairs are subject to rigorous evaluation and review and regular monitoring by an oversight body.

We would be grateful for your comments on the matters raised.

Yours sincerely

Javier Zúñiga
Program Director - Americas Regional Program
Amnesty International

A copy of this letter has been sent to the Board of County Commissioners of El Paso County.

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