Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024
Section 95-2-15 - Inmates Rights15.1. Access to Courts. Inmates have the right to have access to courts to present any issue, including challenging the legality of their conviction of confinement; seeking redress for illegal conditions or treatment while under correctional control; pursuing remedies in connection with civil legal problems; and asserting against correctional or other government authority any other rights protected by constitutional or statutory provision or common law. Inmates seeking judicial relief shall not be subjected to reprisals or penalties as a consequence of their action.15.2. Access to Attorneys. Procedures shall ensure and facilitate the right of inmates to have access to attorneys or their authorized representatives.15.3. Access to Law Library. Procedures shall provide for the right of inmates to have access to an appropriate law library and to supplies and services related to legal matters. The law library shall include, at a minimum, relevant and up-to-date constitutional, statutory and case law materials, applicable court rules, and practice treatises.15.4. Access to Supplies. The correctional facility shall make reasonable efforts to assist inmates with the preparation and processing of their legal documents. Items such as paper, typewriters, and carbon paper shall be provided all inmates upon request and be available free of charge to indigent inmates.15.5. Equal Access. When male and female inmates are housed in the same correctional facility, there shall be separate sleeping quarters, but equal access to all available services and programs. Neither sex shall be denied opportunities solely on the basis of their smaller number in the population.15.6. Refusal to Participate. Procedures shall provide inmates with the option to refuse to participate in secondary or post-secondary education, vocational training, religious services, social services and counseling, psychological and psychiatric treatment, library services, athletic, recreational and leisure time activities, involvement with community groups, mail and visiting, contact by media, contact by attorneys or legal representatives, volunteer programs and pre-release programs. Inmates must accept work assignments, enrollment in basic education programs, medical and dental care mandated by statute, and participation in other programs ordered by the sentencing court or required by statute. Inmates shall not be penalized for refusing to participate in the correctional facility's total rehabilitation program.15.7. Personal Grooming. Inmates shall be permitted freedom in personal grooming as long as their appearance does not conflict with the correctional facility's requirements for safety, security, identification and hygiene.15.8. Grievance Procedure. There shall be a written inmate grievance procedure which is made available to all inmates and which includes at least one level of appeal. The correctional facility's grievance mechanism shall include the following: provision for written responses to all grievances, including the reasons for the decision; provision for response within a prescribed, reasonable time limit, with special provisions for responding to emergencies; provision for supervisory review of grievances; provision for participation by staff and inmates in the design and operation of the grievance procedures; provision for access by all inmates, with guarantees against reprisals; applicability over a broad range of issues; and means for resolving questions of jurisdiction.