Solitary confinement is a torturous and deadly practice that causes devastating harm and worsens safety for everyone in jails and in outside communities after people come home. Solitary is predominantly inflicted on Black and brown people. Solitary has stolen the lives of Kalief Browder, Layleen Polanco, Bradley Ballard, Jason Echeveria, Brandon Rodriguez, Elijah Muhammad, Erick Tavira, and countless others. At the same time, evidence shows that alternative forms of separation that involve full days of out-of-cell time, with group programming and engagement aimed at addressing the reasons for separation, achieve much better outcomes for supporting people’s health and improving safety for everyone. Despite repeated promises by New York City officials to end solitary confinement, New York City jails continue to inflict various forms of solitary confinement by various different names. Solitary by Many Other Names: A Report on the Persistent and Pervasive Use of Solitary Confinement in New York City Jails reveals some of the most recent forms of solitary confinement that the New York City Department of Correction (DOC) continues to impose including "de-contamination units" and "enhanced supervision housing".
Melissa Tanis, Policy and Communications Manager for the Center for Justice, said, “The city has attempted to obscure their continued usage of solitary confinement by calling it different names and packaging it with some variation. What this report clearly demonstrates is that isolating individuals in any form, no matter what you call it, is solitary confinement. It is harmful, ineffective, and is antithetical to creating safety.”
