Something happened the other morning aboard the F train that was pretty unusual. As the doors began to close on the Delancy/Essex street station, the conductor came over the loudspeaker, which of course, is not unusual in and of itself but  it was what she said that gave my fellow passengers and I pause  “This is a Coney Island Bound F Train, Sit back and enjoy your ride.”  …. Sit back and enjoy the ride? Wait, did I hear her correctly,  aren’t we supposed to stand clear of the closing doors?  The rest of the individuals in my car seemed just as amused by this break from convention as I. We looked around made eye contact (GASP), smiled and all collectively chuckled before returning to looking down, playing candy crush, reading a book, ya know, business as usual. A group of strangers having a laugh together; its the sort of thing that happens here in New York City as you go about your daily life in such close proximity to so many others. You socialize quite by accident on occasion and think nothing of it. Only this time, I did take a moment to think something of it. What I thought of, in particular, was what it would be like to not be able to socialize, even in such a small way. I thought about what it might be like to sit in a cell about the size of a parking space alone without any stimuli for 23 hours a day for months at a time. Now, I’m not usually prone to imagining myself in solitary confinement (although truth be told I probably think about it more than most), it just so happens that on this occasion solitary confinement was on my mind for good cause. New York State reached an agreement this month in a lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), Peoples v. Fisher. The suit  alleged that the State’s Department of Correction and Community Supervision’s (DCCS) “use and length of confinement sanctions and conditions in DCCS’ “Special Housing Units” create an unconstitutional risk of harm”. The agreement provides that the state will immediately take steps to remove minors, pregnant women and developmentally disabled individuals from solitary confinement in these “Special Housing Units”. Minors and pregnant women will now be prohibited from receiving such sanctions. The developmentally disabled will have a time limit of 30 days of solitary confinement, which is huge given that the NYCLU found that the average stay in these “Special Housing Units” is 150 days.   The agreement appoints experts in the field to devise a plan for reform for the state’s prison system, expected to be issued this spring. It also holds DCCS accountable for the use of this type of punishment by forcing them to provide NYCLU with monthly reports on the “use and condition of the cells”. Quarterly reports will also be generated  “analyzing trends and outcomes for those individuals in the prison isolation system”.

The agreement is a large step toward prison reform in our state, the biggest prison system to take on this sort of reform in the country.  I don’t think I need to labor on about just how big it is. I’ll assume you as social workers can surmise the effects of solitary confinement on individuals, particularly those that are seriously mentally ill. I don’t think I need to tell you, social workers, how jarring it is for an individual to be released from solitary right into our community. I’m guessing you already know how this might affect one’s chances for success post-release. Nahh, instead of using statistics, studies and case examples as I usually do, I’ve decided to try a different method of inciting the advocate in you: the comment section.  In reading an exorbitant  amount of articles on this subject, I came across some gems of public commentary that I’d like to share:

NYC Taxpayer says: People forget that these prisoners are convicted 
FELONS and are in prison for good reason. I feel no sympathy for 
rapists, burglars, robbers, car thieves and the like. I think we pamper prisoners in New York.

Steve says: Actually it is the victims and what they suffered at the hands of 
these convicts who are the forgotten ones -And I wish that an equal amount of ACLU time and effort was spent ensuring their rights and protection. These convicts 
are in SHU units for good reason-it is their action(s) that put them in that unit. You do the crime-you should do the time-and that time should be done in the SHU 
unit if a convict's actions in prison warrant that placement.

PMAC says: Why aren't we talking about the reason why a prisoner is put in 
solitary confinement??? Prisons are not country clubs - you act out of line, you 
pay the consequences. Prisons should be a place that instill fear -- a fear that 
'prevents' someone from committing a crime! The slogan used by the CLU (who put 
more criminals back on the streets to kill/main people) should be: "You never want to end up in prison".

Endless War says: "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time…" Solitary 
confinement is punishment for people removed from society for criminal behaviour 
who, subsequently, could not even interact with like-minded criminals in a civil 
manner.The recidivism rate for NY State inmates is already 40-60% (Governor 
Cuomo's office). Will making prison more homey and less-confining really improve 
that number? Solitary confinement can be used to protect the prison population 
from out of control individuals as well as protect those individuals (including 
the mentally ill) from retaliation and abuse by the general prison population. To do away with it will put guards and prisoners at risk as well as remove one of the methods to deter repeat offenders. NY prisoners are not wayward children, they 
are for the most part career murderers and rapists who show a wanton disregard for the rights of free-living citizens of the United States. Pardon me if I can't 
lose any sleep about how accommodating their punitive atmosphere may be.

Kurt says: "The most common infraction was failure to obey an order, which 
resulted in 35,000 such punishments, the data showed." That's exactly why they're in prison in the first place because they can't follow the rules of a civilized 
society. Learning to obey the rules is the first step in integrating an inmate 
back into society. If they can't do that then they belong right where they are.

 

I chose these comments because I think they demonstrate just how vulnerable a population our country’s prison inmates are. Mr. Endless War and Mrs. NYC Taxpayer clearly do not care if some “FELON” spends 150 days locked in a concrete parking space and I think that demonstrates why we should. As so many of these commentators so cleverly pointed out “you do the crime, you pay the time” and though not terribly astute, I can see their point. Yes, do the time but I don’t believe the time needs to be done in a “Special Housing Unit”.  Prisoners are not “for the most part career murderers and rapists.”   While they might be “rapists, burglars, robbers, car thieves and the like” (and don’t forget stealers, we are looking for synonyms right?), they could also be seriously mentally ill or a first time offender with a drug addiction or just a person who made a terrible mistake in their life. Whomever they are and whatever they have done, they might be our clients at one point or another; and on account of that, I think its our duty to stand up against the Kurts and the Steves and demand for prison reform,  even if it comes one agreement at time.

More articles: Here and Here

And just because I think its funny:

Cleo says: If I was in prison, I would prefer to spend the entire time in 
solitary, preferably with my own bathroom and shower. Also, a lock from the 
inside.