PRINTER'S NO. 3698
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
980
Session of
2018
INTRODUCED BY CEPHAS, READSHAW, MURT, NEILSON, KINSEY, FRANKEL,
SOLOMON, THOMAS, J. HARRIS, W. KELLER, DONATUCCI, SCHWEYER,
DALEY, GILLEN, M. QUINN AND McCLINTON, JUNE 18, 2018
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JUNE 18, 2018
A RESOLUTION
Expressing concern over the surging rate of female incarceration
in this Commonwealth.
WHEREAS, From 1980 to 2014, the number of women incarcerated
in Federal, State and local correctional institutions across the
United States skyrocketed more than 700%; and
WHEREAS, Nationally, 65 out of every 100,000 women were
incarcerated in 2014, with 41 out of every 100,000 Pennsylvania
women behind bars; and
WHEREAS, Eighty-two percent of women are incarcerated for
nonviolent offenses, 32% for property offenses, 29% for drug
offenses and 21% for public order offenses; and
WHEREAS, An estimated 80% of incarcerated women are mothers;
and
WHEREAS, Research has shown that incarcerating a woman who is
responsible for heading a household can lead to irreparable
setbacks for her family; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania is part of the national trend in rising
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female incarceration, having more than 2,600 female inmates in
2017; and
WHEREAS, Female offenders in this Commonwealth who are
sentenced to State confinement are housed at the State
Correctional Institution at Muncy and the State Correctional
Institution at Cambridge Springs; and
WHEREAS, This Commonwealth's female inmate population at
those facilities has grown twice as fast as the overall adult
prison population since 2000, jumping 74% while the overall
increase was only 36%; and
WHEREAS, We must acknowledge that the increasing number of
incarcerated women may cause a lasting negative impact on
families and communities Statewide; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives express concern
over the surging rate of female incarceration in this
Commonwealth.
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