Last January, the City Council overrode the veto of Mayor Eric Adams and approved Local Law 42 against the solitary confinement of inmates in the city’s jails, a common practice in which inmates are locked in cells, totally alone. , most of the day, for up to 23 hours a day.
And although prison authorities in the Big Apple insist that currently this type of punishment for violent inmates is no longer used in New York facilities such as Rikers Island, and instead they apply what they call “enhanced supervision”, which guarantees a minimum of 7 hours outside the Cells, defenders, relatives of inmates, and former accused and convicted denounce that extreme solitary confinement continues to exist, which is why they ask to guarantee that the law that puts an end to it is implemented.
That was the call that dozens of protesters made this Monday in Foley Square, Manhattan, before a public hearing called by the New York City Jail Board, in which they heard testimonies and recommendations in which they urged that that body vote on Tuesday, June 25 for the supervised and detailed implementation of the new municipal standard.
The law orders its implementation in prisons, starting July 28, and the fear is that it will remain a dead letter if measures are not defined that put everyone on the same page, and solitary confinement, which among other things affirms generates mental, emotional and behavioral damage, it continues to be put into practice.
This was stated by Edwin Santana, organizer of Freedom Agenda, who denounced that the prison authorities intend to disguise solitary confinement, simply by changing its name, and who asked the prison supervisory body to define clear mechanisms that guarantee that starting next month Prolonged confinement in solitary cells ends in prisons.
“We are pushing to put into practice what the City Council approved and we ask the Jail Board to do what they have to do so that both Mayor Adams and the people who work at Rikers Island are on the same page when “The law will be implemented, which will be in July,” said the former Latino inmate, who affirms that he experienced the ravages of solitary confinement in the late 90s when he was deprived of his freedom.
“The serious problem is that now they are not on the same page and that prevents there from being real progress. What they have done at Rikers is erase the word confinement, but in practice, they continue doing the same thing. They only changed the name, but now we must do everything the law says, and the Board must also define, not only how the law is going to be implemented, but how they are going to supervise its compliance,” highlighted the community leader. “It’s about us working together and not them against us. “If we come together, we can make progress and truly end solitary confinement and look for better alternatives.”
And when speaking about the proposed rules to implement Local Law 42, Akiana Smith of the organization WCJA (Women’s Community Justice Association) urged that they be put into effect immediately to stop what she called torture, and save lives and improve safety for all.
“The City Council needs to implement Local Law 42 right now to protect our mothers, sisters and daughters at the Rose M. Singer Center at Rikers. And jail release efforts must be intensified so that women and gender expansive people safely return to our communities with the resources they need,” the activist said. “We need to end the trauma now, end the isolation. No matter what you call it, loneliness is torture. Layleen Polanco was in Rikers because she couldn’t post bail. She was placed in solitary confinement against a doctor’s recommendations and it killed her. How many more people have to die?”
Councilor Tiffany Cabán asked the Prison Board and the Municipal Administration to align themselves with the articles approved against the solitary confinement of inmates, and stressed that torture cannot continue to be legitimized in New York prisons.
“Here in New York state we don’t have the death penalty. We agreed as a society that such a sentence was cruel and unusual punishment. When you are charged with a crime and sent to Rikers, you should not face a death sentence. And you shouldn’t be tortured. That is why we call on the Board of Corrections, an oversight body and oversight agencies, to ensure that this administration follows the laws and adopts rules to implement Local Law 42,” the Queens politician said. “The torture at Rikers Island must end. Otherwise, we will continue to hear the same excuses that we don’t have isolation, we have cages, or people isolated in showers or cages connected to cages, but not isolation. They must hold the mayor and the administration accountable and end the solitary confinement.”
Edwin Santana, organizer of Freedom Agenda. Photo: Edwin Martinez
Councilwoman Sandy Nurse, president of the Criminal Justice Committee of the Municipal Council, demanded that the Prison Board not ignore the recommendations and cries of those who are issuing their comments and testimonies, and guarantee that the approved law sees the light inside the prisons.
“We hope they do the right thing. It has taken us a long time to get here, but the City Council has acted to ensure that people are not tortured. It is now the obligation of the Board of Corrections to ensure that the rules in the future are fully in line with Local Law 42,” said the Latina councilor. “We hope that they adopt the recommendations of the coalitions and the Council. It is vital that we do not go backwards. It took an immense amount of organization, hard work, and heartbreaking stories to get here. We hope that this Board will truly listen to the cries of the people and fully align its rules with Local Law 42.”
Candie Johnson of the Jails Action Coalition and Freedom Agenda, who described herself as a survivor of solitary confinement, having spent more than 1,100 years in solitary confinement when she was held between 2012 and 2015, said that implementing the law that ends solitary confinement Solitary confinement in New York will not only prevent deaths but is a moral issue.
“The Board of Corrections has to do God’s work by implementing Local Law 42. By doing so, it will save so many lives, so many souls. It has been five years and ten days since Layleen Polanco was murdered in solitary confinement. When she was in isolation the officers used to laugh at me for trying to commit suicide. In the videos, you can see the officers getting angry with Layleen,” the young woman said. “It is imperative that we end loneliness. The Board will do so. There is no cure for my memories and nightmares. But when the DOC and BOC implement Local Law 42, they will prevent other people from having nightmares like me or more deaths like Layleen.”
Dr. Victoria Phillips, of the Jails Action Coalition, emphasized the call for the Board of Corrections to listen carefully to public comments on the rules for implementing Local Law 42, to ensure that solitary confinement disappears from prisons in the big Apple.
Councilors Tiffany Cabán and Sandy Nurse at the demonstration. Photo: Edwin Martinez
“The board must adopt rules to implement Local Law 42. New York does not have the death penalty and Rikers Island is a local jail. “Everyone is worthy of being protected in their human rights,” said the leader.
Facts about the law against solitary confinement
- June 25 is the date on which the Prison Board must vote on the rules that will be implemented
- July 28 is the date given by the law for it to begin to be applied in prisons
- 14 hours out of cells for all inmates is one of the provisions required by law
- 7 hours a day of the 14 must be included in group programs outside the cells is another requirement
- 23 hours of daily solitary confinement and even longer periods, prisoner advocates denounce
- 17 hours of isolation for violent inmates is the maximum they apply under what they call enhanced supervision, authorities say
- 7 hours a day outside the cell have inmates placed in temporary isolation, prison authorities say