Lee Harris, the mayor of Shelby County, intends to abolish solitary confinement at the Shelby County Corrections Department, commonly referred to as the penitentiary farm.
Harris signed an executive order to execute the action on Wednesday, June 18, according to a statement from the mayor’s office.
The prison will instead implement the Mandela Rules, often known as the United Nations Minimum Standards for the Treatment of Prisoners.
According to these regulations, inmates must spend at least two hours each day outside of their cell and cannot be in solitary confinement for longer than 15 days.
The Shelby County jurisdiction will become the first jurisdiction in the South to implement the norm as a result of the order, according to Harris.
