More than 200 civil rights groups back bill to stop solitary, as measure heads to vote
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Assemblymember Jeff Aubry. Photo via Assembly
By David Brand
More than 200 civil rights groups, faith organizations and health leaders are backing a bill to curb the use of solitary confinement in New York prisons, with state lawmakers set to vote on the measure Tuesday.
The Humane Alternatives to Long Term, or HALT, Solitary Confinement Act is sponsored by veteran Queens Assemblymember Jeff Aubry and has gained momentum in recent weeks, particularly after New York City moved to limit solitary confinement on Rikers Island.
In a letter Monday, the vast coalition of advocates — including the Correctional Association of New York, Queens United Independent Progressives, Legal Aid and the Urban Justice Center — urged State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to call a vote on the bill. Heastie announced later in the day that the measure would be brought to the Assembly floor.
Tomorrow the @NYSA_Majority will take up the HALT Solitary Confinement Act, to end the inhumane practice and get incarcerated NYers the mental health care they need. The practice, considered torture by the UN, has no place in NY and I'm proud that we will end it #HALTsolitary
— Carl E. Heastie (@CarlHeastie) March 15, 2021
The advocates cited the punishment’s devastating impact on mental, a fact noted by the United Nations, which considers prolonged solitary confinement a form of torture.
“Solitary confinement serves no purpose beyond oppression,” they wrote. “Rather than addressing the root causes of any problematic behaviors, solitary confinement breeds trauma, despair, and serious mental illness.”
“Jurisdictions that have restricted solitary while introducing targeted programming have seen dramatic gains in safety,” they added.
The legislation would specifically restrict the use of solitary confinement to no more than 15 consecutive days or 20 total days within a two-month period. The bill would also mandate that, after 15 days, individuals be moved to rehabilitative and therapeutic units that provide programs, therapy and support services with at least six hours a day spent outside a cell.
Aubry described the need for the law in a 2019 op-ed for the Eagle.
“We must pass the HALT Solitary Confinement Act as soon as possible to put New York on the right side of history and help ensure no human being is ever locked in these torturous conditions again,” he said.
