An important legislative step to bring transparency to the use of solitary confinement

The Bronx Defenders was at City Hall yesterday where Mayor de Blasio signed into law Intro-292A, which will bring increased transparency to the use of solitary confinement in New York City jails, an important first step toward ending this torturous practice.

Under this law the Department of Corrections will be required to publish four reports a year detailing how many inmates are placed in solitary, what they are sent there for and how long they stay, whether they attempt suicide or are physically or sexually assaulted, along with a number of other statistics lending increased transparency to the use of solitary confinement in jails.

The Bronx Defenders has repeatedly vocalized its condemnation of the use of solitary confinement as it is practiced at Rikers Island. As evidenced by a series of inmate interviews collected by The Bronx Defenders of clients at Rikers Island, the extended duration and deplorable conditions of this cruel and unusual punishment inflicts both severe mental and physical harm on individuals who are already in the custody of the city and has no place in modern society.