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NYC To Stop Putting Minors In Solitary Confinement Next Year
By
Lauren Evans
Published Jan 13, 2015
Modified Jan 13, 2015
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By
Lauren Evans
Published Jan 13, 2015
Modified Jan 13, 2015
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The city's Board of Correction voted unanimously this morning to put an end to solitary confinement for inmates under 21-years-old. The new ruling will also reduce solitary confinement for all prisoners to no more than 30 days in a row. The change will take effect in January 2016.
“With these reforms, New York City has taken an important stand for basic human rights and reaffirmed its commitment to the safety of prisoners, prison staff and our communities,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said in a statement. “An institution as profoundly broken as Rikers Island will require wholesale reform to transform into a humane environment that emphasizes treatment and rehabilitation over punishment and isolation, and these rules are a major step forward.”
Rikers has been at the center of several egregious abuse scandals in recent years, several of which have been blown open by reporting from the Times.
Mayor de Blasio also commended the board on their move toward making Rikers a marginally less hellish place.
“For years, New York City has locked people up without the provision of adequate programs and treatment to change their thinking and their behavior. Under Commissioner Ponte’s leadership, we have ended the Department’s over-reliance on punitive segregation, we’ve begun to offer enhanced programming and treatment options, and we are pursuing evidence-based practices that will lead to a safer and more humane system.”
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