BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — In 2021, former Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Human Alternatives to Long Term Solitary Confinement (HALT) Act into law, restricting solitary confinement for vulnerable individuals in New York prisons.
The law prevents placing anyone under 21, over 55, pregnant women, or people with disabilities in solitary confinement.
Jerome Wright, Co-Director of the #HALTsolitary Campaign, spent 32 years serving time for second-degree murder and manslaughter.
He said he spent seven years in solitary confinement.
“It is torture, it is torture in every way, shape, or form,” Wright said. “I probably would rather them pull out my fingernails and get it over with than spend a year or two years in solitary confinement because that pain would end then, but the pain of solitary confinement is still with me now.”
Wright described his experience in solitary, comparing it to living in a bathroom for 23 hours a day.
“Just think about this, your bathroom, living in your bathroom, for 23 hours out of the day every day, for a year. Think about it, do it for a week. How do you think that will make you feel?” Wright said.
However, the law has faced opposition from some lawmakers, including Republican Congressman Nick Langworthy, who believes the HALT Act compromises prison safety.
“These are dangerous work practices, and they have been made worse by the New York State HALT Act, one of the worst pieces of legislation ever written in this state,” Langworthy said. “It has put the rights of the people that have earned their stay in that building above the hardworking people that are there to keep this place safe.”
Langworthy argued that the law has led to increased violence in prisons.
“Since the implementation of the HALT Act, prison violence has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels. Inmate-on-inmate assaults are up 169%, and inmate-on-staff assaults are up 76%,” he said.
Wright, however, insists there are other ways to manage behavior without resorting to solitary confinement.
“There are many other ways, there are many ways they employed before you can lose recreation, you can lose other privileges, you can lose the amenities, the few that they do have, those can be taken from you,” Wright said.
The Governor’s Office has stated that since HALT Act is now law, any changes would require action from the state legislature.
