May 6, 2020

For Immediate Release...

Contact: Jared Chausow, jchausow@gmail.com,

Survivors of Solitary Confinement & Other Advocates Joined NYS Legislators in Virtually-Connected, Socially-Distanced Actions in Every Corner of NY State to Demand Legislature Resume Session Remotely and Pass the HALT Solitary Confinement Act

In-Person and Car Actions Took Place Outside the Offices of Legislative Leaders and Governor Cuomo’s Albany Mansion, as well as in Binghamton, Buffalo, Ithaca, Long Island, & Rochester

***Zoom recording available at: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/3o9yL5-v3F9JGI3P017xBf96EYbdT6a8gSAd-PBYxE662MXUFDPSxDVPvMsJLbNP***

(New York) -- Today, survivors of solitary confinement, impacted families, and other advocates joined New York State legislators in a series of virtually-connected, socially-distanced actions across the state to demand the legislature resume session remotely and end the torture of prolonged solitary confinement through enactment of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act. Correctional health experts agree solitary confinement actually makes people more vulnerable to COVID-19; HALT would not prohibit true medical isolation. Community members taking part in these actions gathered at a distance in cars or in person while wearing protective gear outside the office of Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the office of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Governor Cuomo’s Albany Mansion, and in Binghamton, Buffalo, Ithaca, Long Island, and Rochester. Legislators who joined them on Zoom included Senators Julia Salazar and Alessandra Biaggi and Assembly Members Michael Blake, Harvey Epstein, Dan Quart, and Jo Anne Simon. Directly impacted leaders and advocates joined from the #HALTsolitary Campaign, VOCAL-NY, Citizen Action, Center for Community Alternatives, New Hour for Women & Children - LI, Partnership for the Public Good, Human Rights Watch, Westchester for Change, Group 73 of Amnesty International (Ithaca), and NAMI NYS Criminal Justice.

“Solitary confinement is torture and must end in New York State,” said Roger Clark, community leader at VOCAL-NY. “COVID19 has brought a spotlight to the horrific conditions in prisons and jails, including solitary confinement. Cuomo refuses to address these issues and so we need the legislature, right now, to step up, reconvene and pass the HALT solitary bill, which has majority support in both houses.”

Anisah Sabur, a member of the #HALT solitary campaign said: “As a Solitary survivor I demand that the leadership reconvene remotely immediately and pass HALT now! People are suffering and dying in solitary confinement. Solitary confinement is not medical isolation, and it should not be a tool for quarantining our loved ones during this pandemic.”

“Young and mentally ill people should never be in solitary. Pass the HALT bill now,” said Alicia Barraza, a member of the #HALT solitary campaign and mother of the late Ben Van Zandt.

“I could feel my stomach drop when they put me in solitary. I thought I would throw up. Nobody should ever feel so sick and alone,” said Joan Pleune, a member of the #HALTsolitary Campaign, the Granny Peace Brigade, and a 1961 Freedom Rider.

Lead HALT Sponsor Senator Luis Sepulveda said: “The COVID19 pandemic has highlighted the inequalities of our societies, and disproportionately affected the most marginalized and vulnerable amongst us, including incarcerated people. Despite our collective efforts being rightfully focused on addressing this public health crisis, we must also not turn a blind eye to the continuing issues in our correctional system, particularly the long overdue need to end solitary confinement. When the Legislature resumes session we must pass HALT, to ensure New York State lives up to our values of human rights, justice, and dignity for all.”

Chaplain Kim Eliano said: “Human life is sacred. New York acts as though people in prison don't matter, leaving them to be tortured and die in cages. Legislatures have a moral obligation to return to session and pass the HALT bill now!”

Assembly Member Michael Blake said: “Solitary confinement is an archaic and inhumane form of punishment that needs to be immediately phased out of our prisons and jails. I stand with my fellow HALT Co-Sponsors in demanding that we make this change to our criminal justice system, which this pandemic has shown to be in desperate need of reform. COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on the incarcerated population, and it’s no exaggeration that right now, getting locked up may ultimately be a death sentence.”

"The HALT bill should have been enacted last year, but the argument for ending isolated confinement as we know it in New York is even more compelling now," said NY Senator Julia Salazar of the 18th Senate District (Brooklyn). "New York engages in practices which have been defined as torture under international human rights law, in part due to the devastating impact of long-term deprivation of regular human contact and the sensory deprivation to which people in solitary are subjected. New Yorkers in prison or jail must be afforded basic human rights and families with incarcerated loved ones must be relieved of the constant worry that their family member will be traumatized by the continued use of cruel and inhuman practices of isolated confinement in NY's prisons and jails. The legislature has a moral and legal duty to enact HALT now."

Senator Alessandra Biaggi said: "I feel devastated that we have to keep doing this over and over again. There is no place in New York State for torture. That is what solitary is. We are dealing with the most major public health crisis that we have ever seen in the state of New York with COVID-19, but we cannot forget that the public health crisis that has existed in our jails and prisons for decades is solitary confinement...I represent Riker’s Island...There is nothing humane about what’s going on in Riker’s Island or any jail, especially those jails that have solitary confinement...We are not coming down on our energy or pressure to require and demand that the Governor, when he gets this bill, sign it into law. There is no excuse. If he doesn’t sign it into law then what he is condoning is the torture of human beings and every person in the state of New York must know that."

"Since I took office in January 2019, I have supported the HALT Act as an important part of the wide-ranging criminal justice reform I believe is necessary to bring our outdated laws in line with the progressive values we hold. It is so, so timely during the COVID-19 crisis as our incarcerated brothers and sisters become front-line fodder for this virus that knows no walls. I hope the governor sees the urgency of bringing immediate justice to those who face solitary confinement and acts by Executive Order to end the practice during this emergency. In the meantime, I continue to support bringing the HALT Act to a vote on the floor. It can, must, and will pass," said Senator Robert Jackson (D-District 31).

“New York State has always been a leader in the fight for criminal justice and we continue that fight by attacking our overreliance on solitary confinement. Solitary confinement has always been an expensive method of punishment with long-term isolation doing nothing to rehabilitate prisoners, exacerbating mental illness, and causing mental illness in prisoners after they entered solitary confinement. We must change this barbaric practice and pursue more humane alternatives that help reduce violence in the prisons and promote a healthy rehabilitative environment. It's time for New York to lead once again and pass the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act,” said Assemblyman Walter T. Mosley.

“New York should end this barbaric practice and pass the HALT Solitary Confinement Act right away. The lack of human contact causes people to deteriorate physically and mentally, so this bill is a critical move toward a more humane criminal justice system. As soon as the legislature reconvenes, this bill should be passed, along with more timely parole and parole for elderly people. Reducing the number of people who are incarcerated right now during a public health pandemic will not only protect people who are incarcerated from the coronavirus, but it will also protect people working in our prison system and their families. I stand with CAIC to advocate for alternatives to solitary confinement and reduce the number of people in prison,” said Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon.

“As legislators, it is our job to pass laws that will improve society and protect our most vulnerable. That's why I'm a proud co-sponsor of the HALT Act to protect incarcerated individuals from the chronic and avoidable health impacts of solitary confinement, and promote humane alternatives so they can return to society and contribute positively to their communities. Those who are suffering in isolated confinement cannot and should not have to wait any longer. We must pass the HALT Act now!" said Assemblymember Al Taylor.

“Our failure to end solitary confinement is a stain on our moral conscience,” said Assemblymember Dan Quart. “There is no reason – be that public safety, fiscal, correctional, or otherwise – to continue the punitive practice of solitary confinement. We may never be able to fully right this wrong, but ending torture once and for all is start. The legislature must reconvene remotely and prioritize the passage and enactment of the HALT Solitary Confinement Act."

"Solitary confinement is cruel and inhumane, and we must end it. We shouldn’t be torturing people with a barbaric practice that can exert a lifelong negative impact on a human being’s mental health. It’s long past time to #HALTSolitary!” said Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried.

“Call us back into session so we can pass HALT! Solitary confinement as practiced in New York is considered a form a torture by the United Nations. The COVID-19 pandemic has infiltrated our prisons and jails, where safety protocols to stop the spread recommended by the State and the Center for Disease Control just can’t be met. Like many of my colleagues I am ready to pass this bill. Thank you to the advocates who have driven this campaign even during their crisis moment,” said Assemblymember Harvey Epstein.

Background:

Experts agree that the sensory deprivation, lack of normal interaction, and extreme idleness of solitary can lead to severe psychological, physical, and even neurological damage. A recent study found that people who spend time in solitary are much more likely to die upon release from prison, including because of increased rates of suicide. During this pandemic, these physical and mental health harms of solitary weaken people’s immune systems and are greatly exacerbated, making people in solitary especially vulnerable to COVID-19. Meanwhile, rather than following the advice of health experts to release thousands of people from prison and ensure the health and safety of those left behind, New York is doubling down on the use of solitary, including continuing to send people to solitary for absurd reasons and with facility-wide lockdowns and individual placements in solitary for people who report symptoms. Health experts have called for correctional systems to stop the use of solitary and avoid lockdowns as a response to the virus.

While human rights standards adopted by the United Nations state that solitary beyond 15 days is torture, New York State regularly holds people in solitary for months, years, and decades.

While Governor Cuomo has put forward proposed regulations on solitary confinement, an analysis shows these regulations will continue to allow people to be held in solitary for months and years, including for minor infractions.

Thanks to efforts led by survivors of solitary and their family members, there are more than enough votes in the Legislature to pass the HALT Solitary Confinement Act. This legislation would limit solitary confinement to 15 days for all people (or 20 days in any 60 day period), prohibit it altogether for people with mental illness, pregnant women, and other special populations, and replace this torturous and ineffective practice with rehabilitative alternatives designed to address any underlying behavioral issues, while ensuring due process for infraction hearings and providing for training for prison and jail staff. 34 New York State Senators from Long Island to Upstate New York are officially co-sponsoring the HALT Solitary Confinement Act – a clear majority – and additional Senators have committed to vote for the bill as well. 79 New York State Assembly Members also officially co-sponsor HALT – another clear majority – and the bill passed in that house in 2018. An analysis shows HALT will save money.

Learn more at www.nycaic.org.

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