Systemic Violations of the HALT Solitary Law Have Caused Grave Harm and Death, and New York Prisons Must Immediately Implement the Law to Stop Torture, Save Lives, and Improve Safety for Everyone
(New York) — Today, the HALT Solitary Campaign and the Mental Health Alternatives to Solitary Confinement (MHASC) campaign released a new report: Death by Illegal Solitary Confinement: Suicides and Self-Harm in New York State Prisons. The report documents how New York State prisons in 2024 had the highest absolute number and highest rate of deaths by suicide since at least 2000, despite a significant drop in the overall prison population, and that a vastly disproportionate number of these deaths, as well as incidents of self-harm and suicide attempts, took place in solitary confinement units being illegally operated by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS).