NYC Radical Reference members have written a letter in support of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act, which is pending in the New York State legislature. For more information, see the work of the New York Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement at nycaic.org/legislation.
We are writing as librarians and other library workers in support of the passage of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act (A. 3080 / S. 4784). Thousands of people, disproportionately Black and Latinx, are in solitary confinement in NY prisons each day, which means 22 to 24 hours a day in a cell without any meaningful human contact or programs. These conditions are recognized—including by the United Nations—as torture. The HALT Act would include restrictions on criteria for placement in solitary confinement, alternatives to isolation, and a 15-day limit on solitary confinement. Advocates note that states that have reduced the use of solitary have seen a positive impact on safety for both incarcerated people and corrections officers.
