NEW YORK, NY – Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP) is calling out NY Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) for what it describes as a blatantly illegal and dangerous rollback of hard-won protections under the HALT Solitary Confinement Law.
According to FJP, in a statement issued late last week, the HALT Solitary Confinement Act—passed by a supermajority of the legislature and signed into law by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2021—has been routinely violated since it took effect in 2022.
The law limits the use of solitary confinement in state prisons and jails, aligning New York’s practices with the UN’s recognition that prolonged isolation is a form of torture, reported Fair and Just Prosecution.
Now, added FJP, Hochul and Acting DOCCS Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello, III, have announced what they’re calling a “suspension” of the law. But critics argue there’s nothing legal about it.
The move was made in response to a labor dispute with New York’s correctional officers’ union, whose recent wildcat strikes reportedly contributed to the deaths of at least five incarcerated individuals, claimed FJP.
“This is not a ‘suspension’ but an unlawful plan to violate both the law and New York’s separation of powers,” said Amy Fettig, acting co-executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution, adding, “The state prison commissioner is not above the law and cannot simply disregard the law.”
Fettig said solitary confinement worsens violence against both incarcerated people and corrections officers, while irreparably harming those subjected to it—adding that other jurisdictions have shown safer, more humane alternatives.
Fettig argues, “The Hochul Administration’s continued refusal to enforce the HALT Solitary Law is dangerous, unlawful, and, quite frankly—Trumpian” cited Fair and Just Prosecution.
The campaign to dismantle the HALT law has involved lawsuits, misinformation, and now illegal work stoppages, charged FJP, explaining the campaign is designed to preserve the unchecked authority of correctional officers to use solitary confinement as punishment.
Rather than defending the law and the basic civil rights of incarcerated New Yorkers, state leaders have bowed to union pressure, jeopardizing the health and lives of thousands, the group asserted.
Fair and Just Prosecution maintains the state must immediately reverse course, fully comply with the HALT Solitary Law, and reject fear-based rollbacks of established human rights protections.
