New York City Board Votes To End Solitary Confinement In City Prisons - Mayor

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th June, 2021) The oversight board for New York City prisons voted unanimously to end solitary confinement as a punishment for rule violations by inmates, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Tuesday.

"New York City is going further than any jail system in America to ban solitary confinement once and for all," de Blasio said in a press release. "Through our work with our Board of Correction, we have found a plan that will provide a safe and humane environment for those who are incarcerated and officers alike."

The decision will replace solitary confinement, often used to punish prisoners for violent acts, with a Risk Management Accountability System (RMAS), the release said.

The new system will provide lawyers to represent inmates at disciplinary hearings, require that prisoners spend 10 hours outside cells daily and provide counseling, the release added.

Solitary confinement - a long-practiced form of punishment - typically locks prisoners in cells for 20 to 24 hours each day, according to the release.

The new rules, which take effect in the fall of 2021, build on reforms in 2015 that ended solitary confinement for 16- to 21-year-old inmates, the release said.