Solitary by Another Name: As states pass new laws to reform solitary confinement, advocates are pushing for this harmful practice to be fully abolished.

• Author: Wykstra, Stephanie

In April, criminal justice reform advocates in New York celebrated the signing of a new law that limits solitary confinement to fifteen days. The law--called the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act--puts New York among only a few other states that have restricted solitary to a significant degree for everyone in prison. (Other states have banned solitary for vulnerable people such as youth and those with mental illness.)

But shortly after the law passed, the New York City Board of Correction--which monitors and inspects the city's jails--approved a separate policy in June that would, advocates believe, reimpose solitary confinement. It is set to go into effect in November.

The board, along with the mayor, insists the new rule is in compliance with the new state law. Advocates argue that it simply reinstates solitary by another name. The policy, called the Risk Management Accountability System, creates new levels of separate disciplinary housing, where people would be released from their cells for ten hours per day and moved into an adjacent individual cell. While the time in these levels is capped at thirty days, this can be extended on a case-by-case basis.

Melania Brown, an advocate and sister of Layleen Polanco, who died while in solitary confinement at Rikers Island in 2019, says the new system "would not have saved my sister's life." Anisah Sabur, who endured solitary at Rikers for more than sixty days and is now an organizer with the HALT Solitary Campaign, recently urged the New York City Council to end the "fake 'ban' on solitary."

Jennifer Jones Austin, chair of the Board of Correction, tells The Progressive that the board disagrees with advocates' claim that the new policy keeps solitary in place. She says that people in cells will be able to interact with others (in other cells). Austin adds that the board aimed to "ensure greater safety" both for detained people and correction officers.

Advocates against solitary have reason to be wary: In Massachusetts and California, corrections departments have found ways to circumvent state reforms. And in Texas, Michigan, Virginia, and elsewhere, it's common to hold incarcerated people in near-constant isolation--often as a form of punishment--while denying that this qualifies as solitary confinement.

Jessica Sandoval, national director of the Unlock the Box Campaign, a nationwide coalition of organizations that aim to end solitary, tells The Progressive that...