The use of solitary confinement in New York state prisons is “arbitrary, inhumane and unsafe,” according to a new study published by the New York Civil Liberties Union.
The NYCLU compiled letters from more than 100 prisoners who have spent significant time in Special Housing Units, where inmates are kept in isolation, interviewed family members and corrections staff, and reviewed internal corrections regulations and policies regarding solitary confinement.
The study concludes that standards for isolation are varied and “prisoners in extreme isolation are offered virtually no resources to break the habits that may have brought them to the SHU.”
The NYCLU recommends that New York adopt stringent standards and safeguards for solitary confinement and perform an audit of prisoners currently in isolation.
Read the report HERE.