ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - New Mexico lawmakers are weighing whether the state will join a small but growing list of states that have placed limits on solitary confinement.
A bill proposes banning solitary confinement for pregnant women, juveniles and inmates with severe mental illness who are held in jails and prisons.
Other similar measures have been proposed in recent years.
Debate over the bill comes as former jail inmates in the state win major payouts from counties over their treatment while in isolation.
A lawsuit filed by George Abila of Roswell resulted in the most recent judgment against a county. Eddy County agreed to pay him $1.9 million in January.
He says he was held in a cell without a bed, sink or toilet for six months.
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