New York, NY – Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Council Member Keith Powers, Chair of the Committee on Criminal Justice, sent a letter to the New York City Board of Correction asking the oversight entity examine the solitary confinement system with an aim toward ending the practice. In the letter, Speaker Johnson and Council Member Powers said solitary confinement is “a system that does not uphold human rights and dignity.” They write that the tragic case of Layleen Polanco, a transgender woman who died in isolation at Rikers Island, highlights the need to reform the practice, and urge the Board of Correction to implement new rules at the local level as proposed in the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act (HALT).
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