The Bronx Defenders Condemns Illegal Move to Suspend HALT Law
(New York) – On Wednesday, the same day that prosecutors unsealed indictments against the correction officers who brutally murdered Robert Brooks, New York State Department of Correction and Community Supervision (“DOCCS”) Commissioner Daniel Martuscello III issued a memo in response to correction officers’ illegal work stoppage, suspending unspecified provisions in the HALT Solitary law for an indeterminate amount of time, as well as providing amnesty to correction officers who abandoned their jobs and left incarcerated people with limited or no access to food, medicine, medical care, programs, or visits. In response, Eli Northrup, Policy Director for the Criminal Defense Practice at The Bronx Defenders, released the following statement:
“In 2021 the HALT Solitary Confinement Act was passed with supermajority support in both houses of the state legislature, signaling New Yorkers’ demands that the practice of solitary confinement in all New York State prisons end. Governor Hochul praised the law when it was signed. Any attempts by DOCCS to undemocratically upend it must be stopped.
“By illegally engaging in work stoppages, DOCCS employees have created circumstances where the basic needs of incarcerated people are not being met. Reports from incarcerated community members indicate that people in various state prisons have gone without access to showers, food, medicine, and legal visits during the strike. People have been subjected to near-24-hour lockdowns. Now, the same agency responsible for creating dangerous conditions in prisons wants to suspend the HALT Act, which was passed to help curtail inhumane conditions and indiscriminate torture in the New York prison system.
“Make no mistake about it: incarcerated people – including those who suffer from serious mental health conditions and physical disabilities – experience torture when held in solitary confinement. The risk of suicide, overdose, and mental health conditions markedly increase when people are placed in solitary confinement, as does abuse at the hands of correction officers. Commissioner Martuscello’s decision makes prisons less safe for everyone because solitary confinement worsens behavioral challenges, while evidence-based alternatives – which DOCCS has resisted since the law took effect three years ago – are proven to improve safety for all.
“DOCCS’s stated mission is to ‘provid[e] a continuity of appropriate treatment services in safe and secure facilities where all incarcerated individuals’ needs are addressed and they are prepared for release.’ The actions taken by the Commissioner and the officers who have abdicated their responsibilities evince an intention to do just the opposite. This cannot stand.”
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