Advocates and electeds urge NYC to ‘truly’ end solitary confinement
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ADVOCATES DEMAND AN END TO THE USE OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IN NYC JAILS OUTSIDE CITY HALL IN OCTOBER 2019. MAYOR DE BLASIO SAID last month that THE CITY WILL CURB THE USE OF SOLITARY STARTING NOV. 1. PHOTO BY JOHN MCCARTEN/CITY COUNCIL
By David Brand
A coalition of more than 150 community groups, justice reformers and local elected officials is urging New York City’s jails oversight board to enact rules that eliminate solitary confinement, less than two months after the panel proposed new guidelines to reduce isolation-as-punishment.
In a letter to Board of Correction Commissioner Jennifer Jones-Austin, the coalition said the proposed measures will only “create a new system of inhumane and abhorrent treatment that amounts to solitary confinement by another name.”
They urged the Board to ensure that detainees interact with several other people, without shackles, during daily “out-of-cell” time — periods that should last at least 14 hours a day, they say.
“The Board of Correction must adopt rules that truly eliminate solitary confinement in a real and meaningful way,” reads the document, signed by groups like the National Alliance on Mental Illness of NYC, the Interfaith Society of New York and the #HALT Solitary Campaign. Queens Assemblymembers Zohran Mamdani and Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas and 10 other lawmakers also signed on to the letter, which was submitted ahead of a public comment deadline.
In addition, the advocates say people under 25, older than 55 or with mental health conditions should never be isolated in solitary confinement. Individuals punished with removal from the general population should have access to enrichment programs and counsel, they continue.
“Evidence shows that in addition to being more humane, what actually works to address violence are opportunities for real and meaningful human engagement and pro-social programming,” the letter states. “By contrast, the proposed alternatives to solitary in this poorly conceived rule are the exact opposite of these essential program needs.”
The nine-member Board of Correction, which sets minimum standards for city jails, proposed a new system for separating detainees from the general population last month. The rules would take effect in November.
Under the rule change, detainees in solitary would have 10 hours a day outside their cells, but alone in a caged area, with the opportunity to socialize with at least one other person in a separate caged area. They would also have access to case managers, counselors and five hours of programming, which could take place inside their cells.
“Ending solitary confinement is essential to building a safer and more humane jail system for both people in custody and staff,” Jones Austin said at the time.
Board of Correction Executive Director Meg Egan said the agency welcomes feedback from the public and will incorporate some of the criticism into its rule-making decisions.
“Public comment from stakeholders — including people in custody, staff and their loved ones and advocates — is critical to the Board of Correction’s rule-making process,” Egan said. “The experience, wisdom, ideas, and energy of these experts will inform the Board’s final rule to end solitary. “
Solitary confinement has been shown to have extremely damaging effects on mental health especially among young people and individuals with existing mental health issues. The city banned solitary confinement for detainees under age 22, though correction officers have defied Board of Correction directives by keeping young adults locked away for up to 17 hours a day, THE CITY reported in February.
New York state enacted a new law limiting the use of solitary confinement earlier this month.
The Board of Correction meets for its next monthly hearing on May 11.
Executive Director Meg Egan said the agency welcomes public comments, like the letter sent by advocates Wednesday, and is reviewing testimony and responses as it considers amending the proposed rules before a later vote.
