NYCLU Condemns Mayor Adams’s Emergency Order Suspending Parts of Solitary Ban 

NEW YORK CITY – In response to Mayor Adams’s emergency order suspending parts of new legislation banning solitary confinement in local jails a day before it was to take effect, the New York Civil Liberties Union released the following statement attributable to Executive Director Donna Lieberman:  

“Mayor Adams’s emergency order gutting our City’s historic ban on solitary confinement is yet another abuse of power by his administration. It is also an affront to incarcerated people and their families, including Black and Brown New Yorkers who bear the brunt of this inhumane practice. 

“New Yorkers have made it crystal clear they reject the deadly use of solitary confinement in our city jails, including when their Council Members took the rare step to override the mayor’s veto of the legislation. Yet, the mayor is persisting with his disinformation and fearmongering campaign to suspend the law, putting incarcerated people’s lives at risk.  

“Contrary to what the mayor claims, solitary confinement does not make jails and prisons safer. It just causes more pain and suffering in facilities that are already traumatizing. As we grapple with the daily horrors and culture of impunity at jails like Rikers Island, we will keep fighting to make sure this administration fulfils its obligation to execute the law.”