AUBURN â Citing the potential for more violence in prisons, the union representing New York correctional officers is suing to stop the implementation of a solitary confinement reform law Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed in April.Â
The New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association filed the lawsuit in federal court on Monday. While the main focus is on stopping the changes to solitary confinement protocols, the union is also accusing the defendants, including Cuomo and the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, of civil rights violations. Those allegations stem from injuries sustained by individual plaintiffs â correctional officers who were attacked while working in prisons.Â
PUBLISHED 8:29 PM ET May. 10, 2021 PUBLISHED 8:29 PM EDT May. 10, 2021
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The union that represents correctional officers in New York filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the state and the Department of Corrections in an effort to overturn legislation that limits the use of solitary confinement in prisons.
“If it wasn t for someone hearing my screams, I don t know how this situation would have turned out,” corrections officer Hayes said, detailing an attack she experienced last year while working in a prison. “I was viciously attacked. The HALT bill is designed to help the most violent incarcerated individuals. The HALT bill is also designed to hurt those who protect and serve the state of New York.”
NEW YORK NOW – A union representing correction officers in New York filed a federal lawsuit Monday to overturn the Humane Alternatives to Solitary Confinement Act, or HALT, a new law passed in March to limit the use of solitary confinement in state prisons.
The New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, or NYSCOPBA, claimed in the suit that the new law violates the federal civil rights of its members.
NYSCOPBA President Mike Powers speaks to reporters in Albany on Monday, May 10, 2021. Credit: New York NOW
The lawsuit is hinged on the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which the union argues should guarantee public employees, like their members, due process to be free from dangerous conditions created by the state.
Created: May 10, 2021 08:31 AM
The union representing New York s correctional officers says it s filing a civil rights lawsuit against the state and Gov. Cuomo.
In this lawsuit, NYSCOPBA is really calling for one thing in particular, the repeal of the HALT Solitary Confinement Act.
Gov. Cuomo signed this bill into law a little more than a month ago. It limits the amount of time an inmate can spend in solitary confinement to 15 days, and exempts certain populations like young people or elderly inmates from solitary confinement altogether. It also focuses on providing inmates with therapeutic and trauma informed programming.
NYSCOPBA officials say they ve seen a rise in assaults against correctional officers and other inmates, and they argue this law, which will take effect next April, makes things more dangerous.
NYSCOPBA President Mike Powers speaks to reporters in Albany on Monday, May 10, 2021. A union representing correction officers in New York has filed a federal lawsuit to overturn a new law passed in March to limit the use of solitary confinement in state prisons.
The New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, or NYSCOPBA, claimed in the suit that the new law, known as the Humane Alternatives to Solitary Confinement Act, or HALT, violates the federal civil rights of its members.
The lawsuit, filed Monday, hinges on the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which the union argues should guarantee public employees, like their members, due process to be free from dangerous conditions created by the state.