solitary confinement
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NYC Mayor-Elect and City Council Fight over Solitary at Rikers
Former police captain Eric Adams says don’t question him unless you’ve worn a badge
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Family of Layleen Polanco Reaches History-Making $5.9 Million Settlement Over Solitary Confinement Death
The family of Layleen Polanco, a trans-Afro-Latina who died while in solitary confinement at Rikers Island jail last year, will receive a historic $5.9 million settlement—the largest New York City has ever paid out for a death in one of its city jails. In a statement to The City, family attorney David Shanies said the…
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Spurred by the 2019 Death of Layleen Polanco, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio Moves to End Solitary Confinement in City Jails
A year after trans Afro-Latina Layleen Xtravaganza Polanco died while imprisoned in solitary confinement at Rikers Island, New York City Bill de Blasio has vowed to end the practice “once and for all.” The mayor made the announcement during his Monday briefing, invoking Polanco’s name as well as that of Kalief Browder, the young Black…
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Study Finds That ICE Places African and Caribbean Immigrants in Solitary Confinement More Often Than Non-Black Immigrants
A new study reveals that U.S. law enforcement isn’t only disproportionately harsh when dealing with black Americans, but that our Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is similarly biased in their treatment of African and Caribbean immigrants. According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, researchers found that ICE detainees from predominantly black countries had been…
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America Is Finally Facing the Fact that Solitary Confinement Is Cruel and Unusual Punishment
The research is in—in fact, the facts on solitary confinement have been known for years—but finally, we seem to have reached a tipping point for ending this well-studied, torturous practice in American jails and prisons. In New York, there is currently a bill before the upper house, the HALT Solitary Confinement Act, which would prohibit…
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As Part of Statewide Reform, New York Graciously Grants Inmates in Solitary One Call Per Week
In a move to lessen what experts have deemed the “cruel and unusual punishment” of solitary confinement—which also has been likened to torture—a new bill in New York state guarantees that those sent to segregated units will have access to a phone within 24 hours of isolation, and that they can have contact with the…
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The Unofficial Gag Order of Jamil Al-Amin (H. Rap Brown): 16 Years in Prison, Still Not Allowed to Speak
At the modern intersection of Islamophobia and the Black Lives Matter movement resides Jamil Al-Amin (formerly H. Rap Brown), the now forgotten civil rights activist and revolutionary leader who, 16 years ago this year, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Fulton County, Ga., Sheriff’s Deputy Ricky Leon Kinchen and the wounding of…
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Rikers Doesn’t Put Teens in Solitary; Other New York Jails Do
This article was published in partnership with Caught, the new podcast on juvenile justice from WNYC Studios and the Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal-justice system. Sign up for its newsletter or follow the Marshall Project on Facebook or Twitter. When the police approached Imani and her friends outside a Syracuse,…