Rikers Island entrance
Photo: Edwin Martinez / Impremedia
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S New York state laws prohibit the solitary isolation of inmates for more than 15 days consecutive but own data Department of Prisons reveal the flagrant violation of this rule, since art 46.5% of inmates in prison were detained for extended periods of up to 72 days.
New York political leaders and organizations defending the rights of the prison population denounced this, after assuring that later the HALT law on solitary confinement, last August 1st Department of Corrections and Community Supervision of the State of New York (DOCCS) reported the cases of solitary confinement, showing that 228 prisoners were held in solitary confinement, illegally, out of a total of 490 inmates.
Activists said the detainees denounced tortuous conditions and described the actions as a direct violation the prohibitions imposed by the HALT law.
Jerome R. Wrightco-director of the campaign #HALTsolitario and a former inmate, he called for compliance with the law and criticized the New York prison authorities for continuing to engage in prohibited practices.
“The survivors of isolation and our families are dismayed that DOCCS continues to traumatize, torture and sometimes even kill members of our community in blatantly violating the law. “” When we violate a rule in prison, we suffer the inhumanity of isolation. I spent eight years in solitary confinement. , mainly due to false accusations. What happens when they break the law? The status quo must go. “.
Data from prison authorities showed that one third of all people in solitary confinement had been in solitary confinement for more than 20 consecutive days. Likewise, it has been shown that over 10% remained in solitary confinement for more than 30 consecutive days, even for more than two months, almost 5 times more than the maximum allowed by the HALT law.
Senator Julia Salazarchairman of the commission for victims of crimes, crimes and corrections of the state senate, was shocked by the data and stressed that the actions of the prison authorities are violating the spirit and letter of the law.
“The harmful impacts of segregated confinement are clear and well documented,” said the Latin politician, calling on prisons to abide by the rules. “Lawyers and experts have worked for years to finally pass the HALT Solitary Confinement Act with the aim of ending the inhumane practice of long-term isolation, making prisons and prisons safer for all through treatment and scheduling” .
Complainants of the violation of the HALT law They added that the number of detainees in prolonged isolation has increased by more than 11,000%, as on May 1, 2022, there were 2 people isolated for more than 15 consecutive days and now 228 have been reported.
Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry he joined the charges and demanded an end to solitary confinement for more than 15 days, as required by law.
“It is deeply disturbing that DOCCS is locking hundreds of people in solitary confinement beyond what the United Nations calls torture,” the legislator said. “The vast majority of both chambers of the state legislature, along with the Governor, have given the Department a clear and specific mandate. They must obey the law and immediately stop locking up anyone in prolonged solitary confinement.
Complaints and data on isolation
- They claim that the state prison system is in flagrant violation of the HALT Solitary Confinement Act.
- 46.5% of the detainees were held for extended periods of up to 72 days.
- 228 was the total number of inmates held in prolonged imprisonment according to the minutes of 1 August, overwhelmed compared to May, when there were only 2 cases
- 11,000% increased the violation of that law
- The law, approved by both chambers and signed on March 31, 2021, entered into force on March 31, 2022
- The complainants claim that the isolation is torture and worsens the behavior of the prisoners instead of improving it.
- The HALT law has led to a significant decrease in the number of people in solitary confinement
- State prisons held over 4,500 inmates in solitary confinement in 2008
- More than 4,000 prisoners were isolated in 2015
- 1,800 people were in solitary confinement in February 2022
- After the entry into force of the HALT law on March 31, 2022, the number of detainees was reduced to 286
- 2 of them were confined for more than 15 days
- There were 490 inmates as of August 1, 2022
- 228 detainees were confined for more than 15 days
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