City Ends Solitary for Health-Impaired Inmates
In wake of Polanco death fi ndings, mayor moves toward eradicating the practice altogether
BY MATT TRACY
One year after Layleen
Xtravaganza Cubilette-
Polanco died alone in
her restrictive housing
cell at Rikers Island, Mayor Bill de
Blasio on June 29 outlined a path
toward ending the use of solitary
confi nement and announced a
more immediate directive banning
it among those with certain health
conditions.
De Blasio and Board of Correction
(BOC) Chair Jennifer Jones
Austin unveiled the creation of a
working group geared toward ending
solitary, or “punitive segregation,”
that will be spearheaded
by the board’s vice chair, Stanley
Richards, and include Department
of Correction (DOC) Commissioner
Cynthia Brann as well as DeAnna
Hoskins, president and CEO of
Just Leadership USA, a group that
lobbied to close Rikers.
The individuals who are excluded
from solitary under the new policy
include those with diabetes and
serious mental illness, as well as
those taking blood thinners, asthma
medication, or anti-epileptic
medication. Individuals who have
undergone organ transplants and
those with heart, kidney, or lung
disease, among other conditions,
are also excluded.
➤ RIKERS SUSPENSIONS, from p.26
both the DOC and Correctional
Health Services. The board asked
the DOC to create an action plan
for how to address interpersonal
confl ict in units housing transgender
individuals, articulate all medical
information to proper offi cials,
ensure guards make rounds every
15 minutes, and more.
“The Board takes seriously its
obligation to thoroughly examine
deaths in custody to identify systemic
failures where they exist and
make recommendations concerning
DOC and CHS policies and
practices,” the board wrote in conclusion.
“It is our hope that DOC,
CHS, and the public can learn from
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced an immediate end to solitary confi nement for inmates with certain
underlying conditions and pledged to end the practice altogether in the near future.
“From closing Rikers Island to
banning punitive segregation for
people under the age of 22, we have
reoriented our correction system
to value human life and rehabilitation,”
de Blasio said in a written
statement. “Now with Jennifer at
the helm of the board and Stanley
leading the working group, we will
chart the course forward with the
board to ban punitive segregation
altogether.”
In a written statement, Austin
described punitive segregation as
“an inhumane practice resulting
in debilitating trauma” that can
last a lifetime.
our review of Ms. Polanco’s death,
and that the agencies will implement
our recommendations to address
systemic issues and prevent
future deaths.”
David Shanies, an attorney who
has represented Polanco’s family
since her death and is spearheading
a federal civil rights lawsuit on
behalf of the family, said on Twitter
that the report “lays bare the many
ways our city’s jail system failed
Layleen and killed her.”
“Treat trans women as women,”
Shanies wrote. “Don’t put sick people
in solitary. Don’t ignore your
prisoners and laugh at their dead
bodies. We hope this will spark
much-needed change.”
In addition to de Blasio, Brann,
ED REED/ NYC MAYOR’S OFFICE
She said, “City plans to overhaul
our jail system, inclusive of reducing
incarceration, closing Rikers
Island, and locating detention centers
in four boroughs must also
incorporate the ending of solitary
confi nement.”
The administration also announced
that Benny Boscio, the
incoming president of the Correction
Offi cers’ Benevolent Association
(COBA), was invited to join the
working group, which the city says
“will prioritize safety for both offi -
cers and detained persons.” Boscio
is taking over the leadership role
for that union after former COBA
Warren, and Ocasio-Cortez, other
city leaders also reacted with anger
to the fi ndings laid out in the
report. Public Advocate Jumaane
Williams said that while the report
outlined necessary changes for the
future, it did not provide justice for
Polanco.
“Layleen Planco deserved justice,”
Williams said in a written
statement. “She deserved respect.
She deserved to live. All of that
was taken from her. The Board’s
report shows negligence, abuse,
and blatant disregard for policy,
but we need true accountability.
I am glad that the Board of Correction
recognizes that the system
that killed Layleen Polanco… a
system that could allow her to lose
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
president Elias Husamudeen was
voted out by members, according
to union election results announced
June 27. COBA last year
opposed the effort to do away with
the practice. It is not clear where
Boscio stands on the issue.
“As I have said many times before,
we need to end solitary confi
nement in the city and ultimately
the State of New York, for Layleen
Polanco and Nicholas Feliciano, for
Kalief Browder, and for so many
others who have been subject to
this torture,” Public Advocate Jumaane
Williams said in a written
statement. “Solitary confi nement
causes deep and permanent psychological,
physical, and social
harm, and the mayor’s working
group, which has been convened
too late but is welcome now, must
move quickly.”
Out gay City Council Speaker
Corey Johnson said in a tweet he
was “glad to hear” about plans to
end the practice, calling it “an important
fi rst step” and welcoming
the restrictions on solitary for folks
with certain medical conditions.
“This group must act quickly
to implement the #HALTSolitary
blueprint ASAP & NYS should
too,” Johnson added, referring to
the “Humane Alternatives to Long-
Term Solitary Confi nement” Act in
the State Legislature.
her life, alone, is one that needs to
be transformed.
Williams continued, “I believe
it needs to be upended. The Department
of Corrections and Correctional
Health Services should
adopt these common sense recommendations,
but that alone is
not enough. It is past time that we
abolish solitary confi nement in
New York City once and for all.”
The report was released just
weeks after Bronx District Attorney
Darcel Clark completed a sixmonth
probe into Polanco’s death
and concluded that she would not
pursue criminal charges. Clark
deadnamed Polanco in that release
and only apologized after she was
bombarded with criticism.
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