C.R.S.
Section 17-1-113.7
Prohibition against the use of restraints on pregnant inmates in the custody of correctional facilities and private contract prisons
- report
(1)
The staff of a correctional facility or private contract prison, when restraining a female inmate, shall use the least restrictive restraints necessary to ensure safety if the staff of the correctional facility or private contract prison have actual knowledge or a reasonable belief that the inmate is pregnant. The requirement that staff use the least restrictive restraints necessary to ensure safety shall continue during postpartum recovery and transport to or from a correctional facility and private contract prison.(A)
The medical staff determine that restraints are medically necessary for safe childbirth;(B)
The prison staff or medical staff determine that the inmate presents an immediate and serious risk of harm to herself, to other patients, or to medical staff; or(C)
The warden or his or her designee determines that the inmate poses a substantial risk of escape that cannot reasonably be reduced by the use of other existing means.(II)
Notwithstanding any provision of subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a) to the contrary, under no circumstances shall staff use leg shackles or waist restraints on an inmate during labor and delivery of the child, postpartum recovery while in a medical facility, or transport to or from a medical facility for childbirth.(b)
The correctional facility, private contract prison, or medical facility staff authorizing the use of restraints on a pregnant inmate during labor or delivery of the child shall make a written record of the use of the restraints, which record shall include, at a minimum, the type of restraint used, the circumstances that necessitated the use of the restraint, and the length of time the restraint was used. The staff of the correctional facility or private contract prison shall retain the record for a minimum of five years and shall make the record available for public inspection with individually identifying information redacted from the record unless the inmate who is the subject of the record gives prior written consent for the public release of the record. The written record of the use of restraint shall not constitute a medical record under state or federal law. Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), no later than February 15, 2022, and each February 15 thereafter, the warden of the private contract prison and the executive director or the executive director’s designee shall submit the records created pursuant to this subsection (2)(b) in the prior calendar year to the judiciary committees of the senate and house of representatives, or their successor committees.(3)
Upon return to a correctional facility or private contract prison after childbirth, the inmate shall be entitled to have a member of the correctional facility’s or private contract prison’s medical staff present during any strip search.(4)
When an inmate’s pregnancy is determined, the staff of a correctional facility or private contract prison shall inform a pregnant inmate in writing in a language and in a manner understandable to the inmate of the provisions of this section concerning the use of restraints and the presence of medical staff during a strip search.(5)
The executive director of the department of corrections shall ensure that the staff of the department of corrections and of private contract prisons receive adequate training concerning the provisions of this section.
Source:
Section 17-1-113.7 — Prohibition against the use of restraints on pregnant inmates in the custody of correctional facilities and private contract prisons - report, https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2023-title-17.pdf (accessed Oct. 20, 2023).
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