“Solitary Confinement Does Not Exist in New York State”
On April 1, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed The HALT Solitary Confinement Act. into law. The legislation allegedly puts an end to the practice of solitary confinement in New York State.
But members of the Corrections Unions in NY, including Neil Pellone, President of the Westchester Corrections Officers union, claim that the HALT Act is based on a false narrative because solitary confinement no longer exists in New York’s prisons. “The fact is Solitary Confinement does not exist in New York State. It is disheartening that elected officials would mislead the media and various advocacy groups by improperly synonymize “solitary confinement” with New York’s Special Housing Units (SHUs),” writes Pellone, in an OP-ED that was sent to the media across the Hudson Valley.
Other Corrections Union officials from lower New York State have formed the Downstate Correction Coalition to speak out against the HALT act and the failure by state legislators to meet and discuss their concerns.
“Last week’s passage of HALT is just another ill-conceived piece of legislation that received no significant input from the stakeholders it effects most, correction officers on the state and county levels. The fact is, violence against staff has continued to rise despite a significant reduction in the inmate population. On the state level, attacks on staff have increased almost 40 percent over the past five years while those incarcerated have been reduced by almost 18,000. There has been no meaningful discussion on how to curb the violence and protect staff, as well as those inmates who are targeted by other inmates. “
–Michael Powers, NYS Corrections Officers and Police Benevolent Association.
“Last week the HALT legislation became law after being signed by Governor Cuomo. This legislation passed the Senate and Assembly without any meaningful input from any Correctional staff, Sheriffs, Commissioners of Correction, or County Executives. This legislation restricts the use of administrative segregation which is a necessary tool within any correctional facility. This legislation in its current form prevents Correctional staff from protecting Officers and Inmates from violent offenders that lurk inside of each and every State prison and County jail. The safety of Corrections staff and Inmates are paramount within a correctional facility,”
–Sergeant. Peter DiChiara President Westchester County Correction Superior Officers Association.
“The HALT legislation was passed based on a false narrative. No lawmakers actually came to our facilities to see what segregated housing truly looks like. This law makes jails and prisons less safe for everyone. We need real amendments which will allow Administrators the ability to protect their staff and all those who are incarcerated. “
–Lou Viscusi, Suffolk County Correction Officers Association.
“They’re putting out this image that New York State still has solitary confinement like it’s The Shawshank Redemption or Alcatraz, where they throw people in a hole – there’s no light. You don’t know what time of day it is,” he said, describing what he called a false perception. “It’s a complete falsehood. It doesn’t exist in New York State. That hasn’t existed in decades, if not longer.”
—Brian Sullivan, President, Nassau County Correction Officers Benevolent Association
“At a time when inmate assaults against New York City Correction Officers are up 23% and stabbings and slashings continue to rise, state legislators approved the HALT Bill, which will prevent us from separating violent offenders from nonviolent offenders. There is nothing humane about subjecting our brave men and women to brutal assaults that send them to the hospital every week to be treated for serious injuries. The Governor should put safety first and realize that this in only going to further jeopardize the lives of our essential Correction Officers. Enough is Enough!”
—Benny Boscio, COBA President
The Downstate Correction Coalition have asked for the Governor and State legislators to make amendments to HALT similar to the amendments made to Bail Reform. Pellone’s Letter reads, “The recent passage of The HALT Solitary Confinement Act is based on a false narrative from the cover photo used by the NYS Senate of antiquated no longer used cells to its purposely misused term name HALT Solitary Confinement.
“The fact is Solitary Confinement does not exist in New York State. It is disheartening that elected officials would mislead the media and various advocacy groups by improperly synonymize “solitary confinement” with New York’s Special Housing Units (SHUs). The term “solitary confinement” implies total isolation and separation of other individuals with limited to no human contact, further pushing the outdated misconceptions and intentional misrepresentations of Solitary Confinement that are not reflective of current practices in New York State jails and prisons.
“The truth is New York State utilizes Special Housing Units (SHUs), which were designed with the safety of all incarcerated individuals in mind. SHUs are used as a correctional tool to control dangerous situations and only when incarcerated individuals commit serious infractions. They are also utilized as a safe space where vulnerable individuals can stay safely, avoiding persecution from other incarcerated individuals.
“In essence, the SHU is the jail within the jail, which is one of the few tools jails and prisons have at their disposal to maintain control. The elimination of SHUs would invariably lead to an increase in violence and worse living conditions for many incarcerated individuals. Imagine having a loved one beaten, cut, maimed or sexually assaulted and the maximum time allowed in the SHU would be 15 days.
“Although SHUs are used to separate individuals to promote a safer environment or to limit or control physical interaction, they are not a tool for complete isolation as many HALT activists would have you believe. Those residing in SHUs are afforded most, if not all, of the same comforts as those in general population including outdoor time, access to authorized electronics, unlimited legal counsel, visitation rights, access to libraries and health care, among others. Upon admission to SHU, initial screenings are done by medical personnel and followed up with daily rounds under the supervision of correction officers and supervisors. On top of that, all mental health triggers are noted and assessed immediately.
“This brings me to the next misused statistic used by The #HALTsolitary campaign which is “surging rates of suicide and self-harm in NYS prisons, with solitary confinement as a primary driver. Last year New York’s prisons had the highest rate of suicide in two decades.” This sensational sound bite ignores a very important factor: the impact of inadequate mental health treatment on the incarcerated. The truth is New York State has seen a drastic cut in the number of psychiatric beds available for the mentally ill and combined with a lack of treatment facilities and programs, the mentally ill often find themselves in jails and prisons leaving the corrections system to manage folks who are better served remaining in a mental health setting, and not a criminal justice system. Suicide under any circumstance is tragic, and it is especially likely to occur among the incarcerated if they are not provided with adequate medical care in the right type of mental health facility.
“Throughout the process of getting HALT passed the legislators focused on and toured primarily New York State Prisons, yet HALT affects more than just the State officers, it affects the various County officers as well, and we were never given a proper seat at the table. Additionally, across the board, the County Executives, Commissioners and Sheriffs were also excluded from meaningful input. And now, they along with all officers on the state and local levels are unhappy.
“Through much advocacy and dialogue with the legislative branches The Downstate Correction Coalition (a coalition of unions representing close to 35,000 uniformed staff from NYS prisons, and NYC, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester county jails) was able to discuss adding amendments to HALT which would add some layers of protection to those of us who are truly affected behind the walls.
“Gov. Cuomo has indicated that there is an agreement with the legislature to make amendments to the language. In his approval message, the governor stated that “in order to protect all incarcerated individuals and the essential workers that staff these facilities, amendments are necessary to ensure that processes are in place to address all possible circumstances where an individual may need to be separated from other incarcerated individuals, including when an incarcerated individual commits multiple acts of violence.”
“Gov. Cuomo, every person who works or is detained in our prisons and jails deserves to be protected from violent, predatory inmates. We are mothers, fathers, daughters and sons, and our rights are no less important than that of the violent inmate population who have no regard for the safety of our officers, staff and non-violent inmates. As with bail reform, this thoughtless legislation will get people you are entrusted to protect seriously injured or even killed. As with bail reform this legislation must immediately be amended to provide a means to properly segregate violent inmates from us your constituents that just want to get through our days safely,” writes Pellone.
