With Prison Strike Over, NY State Must End Solitary Confinement

The strike by thousands of corrections officers employed by the New York prison system highlights a complex web of issues, but at its heart lies a pivotal demand: to gut the landmark Humane Alternatives to Long Term Solitary Confinement Act reforming solitary confinement. The strike serves as a pivotal moment to examine the role of solitary confinement and reconsider the foundational principles and goals of New York’s prison system.

The HALT Act is intended to end the practice of prolonged solitary confinement in New York state prisons. People placed in solitary confinement are cut off from virtually all human interaction and compelled to spend their lives in a space no larger than a typical parking space. Before HALT went into effect in 2022, people in New York prisons languished in solitary confinement frequently for periods of months and even years, often for trivial offenses.

More than a century and a half ago, Charles Dickens wrote that few people “are capable of estimating the immense amount of torture and agony which this dreadful punishment” inflicts. The suffering it imposes, Dickens asserted, is worse than “any torture of the body.” To prevent this suffering, NY lawmakers aligned themselves with internationally recognized human rights standards and used this legislation to impose a 15-day limit on solitary confinement.

Corrections officers across New York went on an unauthorized strike for an assortment of reasons including claims that the HALT limitations on solitary confinement created unsafe working conditions. Those corrections officers are pushing to return to a system that allows unrestricted use of solitary confinement. Their argument doesn’t seriously contest the cruelty of the practice or the immense pain it inflicts. They argue that preserving order in New York’s prisons requires the consistent and frequent use of solitary confinement. This claim contains a kernel of truth, but it raises an urgent question: If solitary confinement is universally acknowledged as a form of torture, why is its use—and the act of inflicting such suffering—deemed necessary for ensuring the safety of our prison system?

The answer lies in the broader dysfunction of the prison environment—a system plagued by inhumanity. There are prisons in New York where good things happen. However, viewing the system overall, issues such as inadequate food, limited access to meaningful activities, distant prison locations, and many staff disconnected from the communities they oversee contribute to an oppressive atmosphere for most prisoners.

There are many good New York corrections officers who try their best, often in challenging circumstances. Few are like the rogue staff who committed the brutal murder of Robert Brooks. But the unchecked violence revealed by that tragic incident, and others like it including the death of Messiah Nantwi, further erodes the system’s credibility. In dire circumstances where hope is scarce, prolonged solitary confinement becomes a crutch to stave off complete chaos.

It’s possible to envision an alternative—an imprisonment model rooted in humanity; one that no longer disparages the people it incarcerates. A system that brings facilities closer to home, offers rehabilitative opportunities, provides nutritious meals, and fosters a sense of hope and respect. Prison systems operating on this model exist and have been effective and workable without the need for solitary confinement. Such a reimagined approach prioritizes human dignity and rehabilitation over punishment, fostering safety in the prison and reducing reliance on extreme disciplinary measures. This vision challenges the notion that solitary confinement is an unavoidable need and instead reveals it as a symptom of deeper systemic flaws.

When the layers of the debate are peeled back, the stark truth that emerges is that the real justification for the continued use of solitary confinement lies not in the nature of the persons incarcerated in New York’s prison system, but in the dysfunction of the prison system itself. Solitary confinement isn’t a solution to the problems in New York state prisons. The solution lies in humanizing its prisons.

The simultaneous occurrence of an unprecedented wildcat strike and the release of a video documenting the shocking death of a defenseless prisoner at the hands of renegade corrections officers underscores a glaring truth: The current system, as it stands, is fundamentally flawed. It’s encouraging to witness the commitment of Gov. Kathy Hochul and Corrections Commissioner Daniel Martuscello to address these pressing issues.

With this pledge we now have an opportunity for New York to reimagine its prisons as institutions that uphold human dignity, promote genuine rehabilitation, and break the cycle of harm. When we make good on that promise, the need, if it ever truly existed, for solitary confinement will vanish.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax, or its owners.

Author Information

Michael B. Mushlin is professor of law emeritus at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.

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