[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 29 (Thursday, February 12, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E252]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 DEATH IN CUSTODY REPORTING ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. PATRICK J. KENNEDY

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 3, 2009

  Mr. KENNEDY. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 738, the 
Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2009. This legislation would mandate 
prompt reporting of prisoner and immigration detainee deaths in state 
and local prisons to the Attorney General. Under current law, many 
families of prisoners and detainees often do not receive timely 
information regarding deaths in custody. An inmate death in a local and 
state correctional facility is a serious matter that deserves full 
reporting to family members as well as federal regulators so that a 
full and transparent investigation can take place into the causes and 
circumstances surrounding a death. I applaud this Congress's action on 
this critical issue and would hope that I can work with my colleagues 
to implement widespread reform in our Nation's prison system.
  For too long, America has turned a blind eye to abuse and neglect in 
our prisons and detention centers. In particular, immigration prisons 
have been the focus of great concern as recent deaths in facilities in 
Virginia and my home state of Rhode Island have made the need for 
transparency as important as ever. Immigration detainees, many of whom 
have neither been charged nor convicted of a criminal act and are in 
custody awaiting a hearing or deportation, often do not receive timely 
or adequate health care. Others are indiscriminately transferred 
thousands of miles away from family members and legal counsel. These 
issues must be addressed in our ongoing efforts to reform our prison 
system. This legislation lays the groundwork for those reforms and I 
applaud Chairman Scott's leadership on this issue.
  I thank Chairman Scott, and I would urge my colleagues to support 
this important bill.

                          ____________________