Prevent the torture of long-term solitary confinement

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Solitary confinement that lasts more than 15 consecutive days is recognized by the United Nations and human rights organizations as torture. Last year state lawmakers took a major step towards ending this brutal practice by passing the Humane Alternatives to Solitary Confinement (HALT) Act. But corrections officers and their unions have been fighting to repeal HALT since the law passed.

Tell legislators to keep HALT in place and fully implement its critical reforms.

Message Recipients
Governor Kathy Hochul
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie

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I’m writing to voice my support for the Humane Alternatives to Solitary Confinement (HALT) Act.

Last year, legislators passed HALT to end the torturous practice of long-term solitary confinement. The law prohibits solitary confinement for longer than 15 consecutive days, and 20 days total in any 60-day period. It also bans its use on vulnerable populations including those 21 or younger and 55 or older, pregnant people, people with disabilities, and people with mental illness.

Critically, HALT requires jails and prisons to create units with access to rehabilitative services. Evidence-based programs like RSVP in San Francisco not only reduce violence behind bars, they also reduce recidivism and increase the chances people successfully reintegrate into society when they’re released.

Solitary confinement that lasts more than 15 consecutive days is recognized by the United Nations and various human rights organizations as torture. HALT is a long-overdue measure designed to end one of the cruelest aspects of our criminal legal system.

But HALT is under attack by corrections unions who are making unsubstantiated claims that the law is making prisons and jails less safe. The truth is HALT includes proven solutions that will make prisons and jails safer for everyone who works and lives in them.

Worryingly, some jurisdictions have failed to implement key provisions of the law. For instance, on notoriously dysfunctional Rikers Island, incarcerated people are locked in cages for 23 hours per day without programming.

I’m counting on you to protect the important civil rights victory that HALT represents, and to ensure that the vital provisions of HALT are implemented.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

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Prevent the torture of long-term solitary confinement

Act Now

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