Correctional Association of New York Releases Report on Implementation of HALT Solitary Confinement Law
Report Documents Numerous Departures from the Letter and Spirit of the Law
Brooklyn, NY — The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) released a report on the implementation of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Law in state prisons.
The law, which went into effect on March 31, 2022, is considered one of the most expansive legislative changes in the country concerning the practice of solitary confinement. Its implementation follows decades of research demonstrating isolation as a contributor to psychological and physical harm, including increased rates of self-injury and suicide and an increased risk of death both during incarceration and after release from prison.
CANY's report presents findings and recommendations on the implementation of the law in New York state prisons so far, based on the organization's monitoring activities between April and December 2022, which included monitoring visits to prisons statewide including Albion, Coxsackie, Elmira, Green Haven, Marcy, Midstate, Orleans, and Upstate Correctional Facilities.
Through its oversight in the past year, CANY found that the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) has reduced the use of segregated confinement, resulting in a drastic decrease of the number of people in a Special Housing Unit (SHU); an end of “keeplock” or cell confinement sanctions; and some opportunities for out-of-cell group engagement and access to programs for people in alternative units with disciplinary sanctions. For example, as of February 1, 2023, 351 incarcerated individuals were in a Special Housing Unit (SHU), compared to roughly 1,800 people incarcerated in SHU in February 2022 and 2,486 incarcerated individuals in SHU in July 2019.
CANY also documented numerous departures from basic adherence to the HALT Solitary Law, including holding incarcerated individuals in SHU for upwards of six times the legal limit; not providing access to required group out-of-cell time and programs in alternative Residential Rehabilitation Units (RRU), which were intended to allow for access to mandatory programs and congregate recreation; automatic use of shackles on individuals participating in out of cell programs; and other departures from both the letter and the spirit of the law. In response to the report, DOCCS acknowledged failures to comply with the law, citing an increase in reports of violence, and reiterated its intolerance for staff misconduct and its belief in the principles of HALT.
While the HALT Law has been an effective measure in reducing the use of isolation in New York State prisons, CANY urges the state to take further steps to achieve compliance with both the language and the intent of the law, as well as develop meaningful program opportunities for people in disciplinary confinement and in the general population and engage research partners to study causes of violence and mechanisms for reducing violence and increasing safety without isolation.
“Ending solitary confinement in New York’s prisons and jails is one of the most pressing issues of our time. Prolonged solitary confinement is torture and has no place in a humane society. Yet it exists in New York’s prisons, jails, and in penal facilities throughout our country. Finding a path to reforming solitary confinement in a manner that promotes the safety of incarcerated persons and custodial staff, however, is not easy. We wouldn’t get there without commitment to the task and oversight to help shed light and accountability. This report by the Correctional Association of New York serves that indispensable oversight function. The report’s recommendations get us closer to the time when we will not only end solitary confinement as we know it but also transform prisons into safe places that offer genuine hope for the people confined in them,” said Michael B. Mushlin, Professor at Pace University School of Law and former Chair of the Board of Directors for the Correctional Association of New York
“The implementation of the HALT Solitary Confinement Law in New York State prisons represents an essential step toward protecting human rights. CANY's findings reveal numerous departures from both the letter and spirit of the law. More importantly, CANY’s report brings real transparency and a complete picture of these issues to New Yorkers. It is imperative that the executive chamber and DOCCS embrace CANY’s recommendations which recognize HALT as inseparable from the need for broader efforts to reduce violence and fundamentally shift the harmful culture and dated practices in NYS prisons" said Martha King, Board Member, Correctional Association of New York, Senior Program Officer at the Revson Foundation and former Executive Director of the New York City Board of Correction
About CANY
CANY, under §146, of New York’s Correction Law, is charged with visiting and examining the state's correctional facilities to identify and report on prison conditions, the treatment of incarcerated individuals, and the administration of policy promulgated by the executive and legislature. Founded in 1844 by concerned citizens of the state and deputized by the state to provide monitoring and oversight of the state’s prisons in 1846, CANY is one of the first organizations in the country prescribed to administer civilian oversight of prisons.
