mr. raemisch. in your written testimony you stated that while the goal of many of your reforms is to decrease the number of offenders housed in administrative segregation there will always need to be a prison within a prison. some will need to be secured to provide a secure environment for staff and offenders. it strikes me that a great many people would think that solitary confinement, particularly for an extended period of time, is not an appropriate punishment for relatively minor infractions but could well be a necessary tool for the most violent inmates who may pose a real threat to the safety of other inmates or of guards. each of the members of this panel has interacted with the criminal justice system in different capacities. miss kerman and mr. thibodeaux as inmates. mr. raemisch administering a correctional institution and system. mr. deroche ministering and helping bring home and redemption to those incarcerated. mr. levin, studying the important justice issues. a question i would ask of

mr. raemisch. and i might say to those gathered here, a roll call vote just started and so some of my colleagues will leave to vote. we'll try to keep the hearing going. miss kerman? >> chairman durbin, ranking member cruz, and distinguished members of this committee, thank you for having me here to address this important issue. i spent 13 months as a prisoner in the federal system. if you're familiar with my book "orange is the new black," you know that i was never held in an isolation unit. the longest amount of time i was placed alone in a holding cell was four hours, and i was ready to climb the walls of that small room by the end of that. i am here today to talk specifically about the impact of solitary confinement on women in american prisons, jails, and detention centers. women are the fastest growing segment of the criminal justice system and their families and communities are increasingly affected by what happens behind bars. at least 63% of women in prison are there for a nonviolent offen

mr. raemisch. in your written testimony you stated that while the goal of many of your reforms is to decrease the number of offenders housed in administrative segregation there will always need to be a prison within a prison. some will need to be secured to provide a secure environment for staff and offenders. it strikes me that a great many people would think that solitary confinement, particularly for an extended period of time, is not an appropriate punishment for relatively minor infractions but could well be a necessary tool for the most violent inmates who may pose a real threat to the safety of other inmates or of guards. each of the members of this panel has interacted with the criminal justice system in different capacities. miss kerman and mr. thibodeaux as inmates. mr. raemisch administering a correctional institution and system. mr. deroche ministering and helping bring home and redemption to those incarcerated. mr. levin, studying the important justice issues. a question i would ask of

mr. chair, ranking member cruz and distinguished members of this committee. it's an absolute honor for me to be here. i'm rick raemisch. i was appointed by governor john hick hickenlooper to fill the vacancy left by tom clemens who was assassinated in march of last year. in horrific irony, mr. clemens was assassinated by an individual who had spent several years in administrative segregation and was released directly from segregation into the community which is an absolutely recipe for disaster. the other irony involved here is that mr. clemens had dedicated his short time at the colorado department of corrections on reducing the large number of individuals in the system that were in segregation, in fact, colorado was one of the leaders, unfortunately for incarcerating people in segregation. i was picked because i had the same vision in wisconsin was able to do some things there. this gives me an opportunity to continue that vision. and having spent some time in administrative segregation myself recently, it re-enforced my feelings about it. these are my feelings, i'll summarize it very quickly in my mind over 30 year

mr. chair, ranking member cruz and distinguished members of this committee. it's an absolute honor for me to be here. i'm rick raemisch. i was appointed by governor john hick hickenlooper to fill the vacancy left by tom clemens who was assassinated in march of last year. in horrific irony, mr. clemens was assassinated by an individual who had spent several years in administrative segregation and was released directly from segregation into the community which is an absolutely recipe for disaster. the other irony involved here is that mr. clemens had dedicated his short time at the colorado department of corrections on reducing the large number of individuals in the system that were in segregation, in fact, colorado was one of the leaders, unfortunately for incarcerating people in segregation. i was picked because i had the same vision in wisconsin was able to do some things there. this gives me an opportunity to continue that vision. and having spent some time in administrative segregation myself recently, it re-enforced my feelings about it. these are my feelings, i'll summarize it very quickly in my mind over 30 year

mr. raemisch, i think in terms of what we should do to any human being, any fellow human being, and that's what this comes to. i thank you all for being here. this is not the last of these hearings until the problem is resolved, and i don't know that it will ever be totally resolved but we are moving on the right path. the first hearing started the conversation and i sense we are starting to move in the right direction at many different levels. i commend the states and i think senator cruz would join me in saying many of the states have shown a real willingness to take this issue on even more than we have, and i think it's important that they continue that and we learn from them in the process. we will leave the record open for about a week, if you get written questions, you might. it is rare, but it happens. if you would respond and return them, we would appreciate it very much. senator cruz thanks for being here. senator hirono, thanks very much. this subcommittee stands adjourned. >>> tonight on c-span3, washington journal's interview with michigan state university president luanna k. s