Kingston, NY – “I commend Ulster County legislators for reconsidering a vote on Res. No. 165, and the sponsor for withdrawing it altogether,” said Assemblymember Shrestha, “I’m cautiously optimistic that no other attempt to undo the HALT law makes a return. At a time when regular people are increasingly demonized so that due process and civil rights can be more easily undermined, a resolution that endorses torture by effectively demanding a repeal of the HALT Law does not stand for Ulster County. HALT is short for Humane Alternative to Long Term Solitary Confinement, a state law that recognizes solitary confinement as torture, limits its use, and allows people to be placed in alternative forms of separation proven to reduce violence. The fact that the resolution asked to amend the law so as to fully roll it back – the same as a repeal – without specifying any amendments showed its passage would have been a meritless gesture, one that cedes ground to a broader push to undo our hard-won steps toward social justice. Additionally, the resolution text was rife with inaccuracies and conclusions contrary to the data.

Evidence shows that solitary confinement does not repair people – it leaves them worse than where they started. It causes mental deterioration, including psychosis, paranoia, anxiety, depression, and self-harm, and it causes physical deterioration, including heart disease. It has also lead to death, including by suicide. Such impacts severely hurt chances of reform, and increase incidences of outbursts and altercations, making prisons and jails more dangerous for everyone, including the staff.

Prior to the enactment of HALT, people were allowed to be locked in solitary confinement 23-24 hours a day, for months, years, decades, and even for over 30 years – including the disabled or pregnant. The resolution’s own data showed that during this time, before HALT went into effect in 2022, assaults in state prisons increased 124% over 10 years, and peaked in 2021 with 1,173 assaults on staff – in other words, solitary confinement was not effective at curbing assaults. What’s more, a 2024 report by the inspector general found that HALT hasn’t even been properly implemented since it went into effect, meaning we have yet to see its results.

What does HALT actually do? Contrary to the resolution’s claim, it does not “eliminate any meaningful disciplinary sanctions for inmates [sic] who commit violent acts.” The law limits solitary confinement to 15 consecutive days, or 20 days in any 60-day period, restricts the criteria that can lead to it, provides additional procedural protections prior to it, and exempts those who are pregnant, or disabled, or over 55, or under 21 from such confinement—Ben van Zandt died by suicide at the age of 21 after 10 days in solitary confinement, and young people disproportionately commit suicide in solitary.

Unlike unrestricted solitary confinement, the alternate forms of separation HALT provides have a track record of reducing violence and preparing people to function as productive community members once they’re out.

It’s worth remembering that the majority of people who end up incarcerated are not in fact violent. Anyone’s family member or friend can end up there, especially if they’re caught up in a cycle of racialized poverty. For the sake of every individual’s right to redeem themselves and the families who bear the stress, we should want assurance that while people are serving their sentence, their mental and physical health, and their path to recovery should be protected. It benefits no one to have a criminal justice system that ruins rather than repairs. I thank the legislature for holding the line on Ulster County’s commitment to social justice and I look forward to working together to create true safety for our residents.”

Jerome Wright, Co-Director of the HALT Solitary Campaign, said, “We are grateful to the Ulster County Legislature for rejecting Resolution No. 165. Solitary confinement is torture. Human beings are social creatures and need meaningful human interaction to survive and thrive. The worst thing you can do to a person is to ostracize and isolate them, which is exactly what solitary in New York does. The HALT Solitary Law was enacted by supermajorities of both houses of the legislature and the Governor to replace long term solitary with alternative forms of separation that have been proven to reduce violence. New York prisons and jails must fully and effectively implement the HALT Solitary Law now in order to stop torture, save lives, and improve safety for people incarcerated, staff, and outside communities. Thank you to all of the County Legislators who were open to learning from the experiences of people who endured solitary confinement and their family members, hearing the cry of the community, and doing the right thing to say ‘no’ to torture. Incarcerated people’s lives matter, too.”

For more background information, please refer to:

• The HALT Solitary Campaign’s point-by-point response to each provision of the withdrawn resolution and the Campaign’s memo of opposition.
• National Policy Institute report on how to reduce violence in New York correctional facilities based on best practices across the country
• Solitary at Southport report by an independent prison oversight body depicting the actual realities of what solitary confinement is like in NY correctional facilities.
• Commentaries by Archbishop Cardinal Dolan about the moral imperative for the HALT Solitary Law and by Doug van Zandt and Alicia Barazza about the loss of their son Ben to solitary

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