New York agrees to reform solitary confinement in lawsuit settlement
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The state of New York has agreed to changes in prison solitary-confinement policies that are expected to reduce the number of inmates in solitary by at least a quarter.
The agreement settles a lawsuit by the New York Civil Liberties Union, the New York Times reports. It provides “a framework for ending the state’s overreliance on extreme isolation,” according to a press release.
The settlement:
—Cuts the type of rule violations punishable by solitary.
—Imposes a maximum of three months in solitary for all but a handful of first-time violations.
—Bars use of inedible food such as “the loaf,” described by the New York Times as “a foul-tasting brick of bread and root vegetables.”
—Grants automatic release from solitary for good behavior.
—Removes more than 1,100 people from traditional solitary confinement into rehabilitative units with common spaces and group programming. Among those who would be moved into the new spaces are people with the longest sentences, people with developmental disabilities, people who need drug or behavioral therapy, and juveniles.
—Calls for the state to spend about $62 million to implement the settlement, including provisions to convert solitary blocks into spaces with group day rooms and outdoor space.
A judge still has to approve the settlement. Another potential stumbling block is the reaction of the corrections’ officers union, which challenged many policies adopted in a 2014 interim settlement of the suit.
The New York Civil Liberties Union was aided by pro bono co-counsel Morrison & Foerster and Cardozo law professor Alexander Reinert.
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