Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
New York Will No Longer Use Solitary Confinement To Punish Prisoners Under 18
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Feb 19, 2014
Modified Feb 19, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Feb 19, 2014
Modified Feb 19, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
As part of a sweeping settlement agreement to reform the way solitary confinement is used in the state, today New York's prison system became the largest in the country to ban isolation as a disciplinary measure for prisoners under 18.
According to an NYCLU release, the state will take immediate steps to prevent inmates who are pregnant, under the age of 18, and developmentally disabled or intellectually challenged, from serving time in extreme isolation, while isolation as a disciplinary tactic will be reviewed by experts with the aim toward meaningfully reducing it over the next two years.
An NYCLU report found that the NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision is extremely liberal with sentencing its inmates to solitary confinement—the average time spent in isolation for a prisoner is 150 days, five to ten times longer than experts say is tolerable. The release describes the treatment in solitary:
Currently, inmates held in isolation are either confined in their cells 23 hours a day entirely alone - with an hour outdoors daily in a walled-in solitary pen, with meals delivered through a slot in the cell door - or with another inmate in a cell the size of a parking space that includes an open toilet and shower. Prisoners in isolation are denied access to educational classes, and more than 2,000 are released from these conditions directly to their home communities every year.
Leroy Peoples and Dewayne Richardson both served 780 consecutive days in isolation after prison officials determined he filed false legal documents.
The NYCLU, along with professor Alexander Reinert at the Cardozo School of Law, and attorneys at Morrison & Foerster sued on their behalf. “This agreement is an important step toward dignity and decency,” Peoples says. “I thank the governor for taking this seriously and hearing us out.”
Judge Shira Scheindlin signed the settlement [PDF].
“We agreed to suspend our lawsuit because the State demonstrated in the course of these negotiations a real commitment to reform," NYCLU senior staff attorney Taylor Pendergrass said. "If this collaborative approach is successful, we will see a sharp reduction in the use and duration of extreme isolation."
Governor Cuomo has pushed for a new jobs program for inmates and raising the age of criminal responsibility, which is currently 16.
In a statement, acting DOCCS commissioner Anthony Annucci said, "These are important reforms that will make the disciplinary practices in New York’s prisons more humane, and ultimately, our state’s criminal justice system more fair and progressive, while maintaining safety and security.”
Tagged
nyclu
prison reform
solitary confinement
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Queens man charged with hate crime at Jewish-owned bagel shop displaying Israeli flags
Prosecutors say the 22-year-old damaged property outside the Fresh Meadows shop twice in May.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 19, 2026 at 6:07 p.m. ET
MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says
In some cases, the damage was “clearly not recent."
By
Stephen Nessen
News
MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says
In some cases, the damage was “clearly not recent."
By
Stephen Nessen
High-ranking NYC officials to testify in ex-buildings boss Eric Ulrich's corruption trial
By
David Brand
Mamdani launches new team to help NYers keep SNAP, Medicaid benefits
By
Caroline Lewis
Riders at 53rd St. station where man was fatally shot say they worry about gun violence
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .