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Sponsors urge permanent ban on free weights in medium and maximum security facilities after attack on corrections officer
Summary
Lawmakers and corrections union representatives urged the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security to report favorably on House Bill 2736, "Matt's Law," which would ban free weights in medium- and maximum-security facilities and require exercise equipment to be secured, citing a 2019 assault on corrections officer Matthew Tidman.
State and union witnesses told the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security that House Bill 2736, known informally as "Matt's Law," should be reported favorably to prevent future attacks inside correctional facilities. Committee chairs and sponsors presented the bill as a response to the brutal assault on corrections officer Matthew Tidman, who suffered catastrophic injuries after an inmate used a metal free weight as a weapon.
A sponsor said the bill would codify a permanent ban on free weights in medium- and maximum-security facilities and require that…
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