Home      Login

Abstract: 

Conditions in a suicide watch cell may be quite onerous: limited clothing, 24-hour lights on and surveillance, special meals and utensils, no recreation, and so on. In Earl v. Racine County Jail , 718 F.3d 689 (7th Cir. 2013), a detainee was placed on suicide watch for five days following his conviction for homicide. The jail claimed this was done as a matter of policy following conviction of a serious crime. Earl claims he was placed on watch following an alleged threat to guards and argues he was denied due process since this was a punitive placement and, thus, denied a protected liberty interest. In ruling against the plaintiff, the 7th Circuit found the restrictions did not violate any due process rights.

Keywords: conditions of confinement; due process

Affiliations:  1: Executive Editor Correctional Mental Health Report.