Restraint Chair Bans

Continuing this series, the advocacy group’s report says that in an Arizona county jail system, the use of restraint chairs was discontinued. The decision to ban the use of restraint chairs in that county was made after several inmates died after being strapped into one. Various municipalities throughout the U.S. have also prohibited the use of restraint chairs. In Florida, they can no longer be used in juvenile facilities. After there were several chair-restraint-related deaths in Utah correctional facilities, their use in jails and prisons was banned in the state.

In Texas, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards has approved the use of various types of restraints, including restraint chairs.

Inadequate medical and mental health care is associated with the use of restraint chairs in jails and prisons.

News Stories and Exposés on Restraint Chair Deaths

An exposé on restraint chairs that was published in 2014 claimed that at least 36 county jail inmates in the U.S. have suffered restraint chair-related deaths since the 1990s when the chairs were introduced. The news story tells of a 62-year-old inmate who suffered from emphysema and depression. Tragically, he died after he was doused with pepper spray while in the chair. The exposé also states that restraint chairs are linked to pulmonary embolism in cases when physical trauma is followed by immobilization. Alarmingly, in almost every case, an intense physical struggle directly precedes being strapped into a restraint chair.

Incidents in the news associated with improperly using restraint chairs in circumstances involving torture, injury, and death include the following:

• In a California county, an inmate died after he was forced to spend 46 hours in a restraint chair.
• In Oklahoma, a 58-year-old inmate spent more than 48 hours in a restraint chair without being provided with an adequate amount of water or food and he was also denied medical care.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, and this continuing series.

This website is meant as a resource that could be helpful to municipal and county jail inmates in Texas, whether they are current or past detainees. This site never intends to suggest that an individual or organization is or has been involved in wrongs.

–Guest Contributor