On Wednesday, the US state of New York enacted two groundbreaking pieces of legislation. One law will limit the cruel practice of solitary confinement, the other legalizes marijuana, and both laws will advance justice and protect rights.
Keeping inmates in solitary confinement for longer than 15 consecutive days will no longer be allowed in state prisons and jails staring next March.
This screenshot shows a March 8 address at the New York Javits Center by Governor Andrew Cuomo. (Image by Courthouse News)
ALBANY, N.Y. (CN) Long-term solitary confinement in New York prisons and jails is on its way out the door after a yearslong push, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday.
“Generations of incarcerated men and women have been subjected to inhumane punishment in segregated confinement with little to no human interaction for extended periods of time and many experience emotional and physical trauma that can last for years,” Cuomo said in a press release.
In 2018, there were 40,000 solitary confinement sanctions in New York state, including about 30,000 in special housing units (SHU) and another 10,000 keep-lock sanctions where people are confined to their cells for up to 23 hours per day, according to a report by the New York Civil Liberties Union. (Unsplash/Marco Chilese)
He used to imagine he was in a park, sitting by the water, basking in the sunlight.
In reality, Victor Pate was in solitary confinement alone in a 6-by-9-foot prison cell with no windows, the fluorescent lights flickering harshly around the clock.
All around him, he could hear other men screaming, crying, wailing calling for help. It wasn t long before he started seeing things, hearing voices that weren t there.