Adams Vows to Bring Solitary Confinement Back to Rikers Island, Scrapping Reforms

[Polybius]

Source: The City

When scores of city correction officers rallied against proposed jail reforms in front of the bridge leading to Rikers Island last summer, they chanted “Bring back the box!” — referring to solitary confinement.

On Thursday, Mayor-elect Eric Adams promised to do so.

People in city jails who are violent will be put in so-called punitive segregation when he becomes mayor, Adams told reporters gathered in Brooklyn Borough Hall as he announced his new Department of Correction commissioner, Louis Molina.

“Enjoy the reprieve now!” said Adams, a former cop.

Read more: https://www.thecity.nyc/2021/12/16/22840330/eric-adams-returns-solitary-confinement-to-rikers-island

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[Hugh_Lebowski]

1. The problem is there's no oversight on who gets sent there, for what, and for how long ...

Completely arbitrary, at the discretion of DOC (NOT any judge), for whatever fuck reason they want to. You looked at a guard 'wrong' ... off to the hole!

And it's totally inhumane to put people in solitary for long periods, it's actual torture.

You can have higher security areas that aren't actually solitary to put the incorrigibly violent people into.

Not a fan of solitary, at all.

First strike against Adams in my book. Not that it matters, I'm not from NY.

[Lucky Luciano]

10. We need the solitary for maga insurrectionists. They should never see daylight again.

…alas, they are being punished softly.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

11. Other than in places like a Supermax (which is all more or less 'solitary') ...

the punishment of being thrown in the hole is not based on the crime severity, it's based on the Warden deciding to throw you in there. A petty thief could end up in it for trying to brew some toilet bowl hooch kind of thing.

Extended stays can cause significant mental damage, permanent eye damage, and the likelihood of people doing self-harm is very high. People kill themselves in it pretty regularly, often by bashing their heads on walls or beds. It's really pretty brutal treatment on the human psyche.

Not a fan, esp. not for more than, say 1 week.

[Hortensis]

13. An endorsement of unspeakable cruelty for life, irrelevant that many of

them thought they were patriots refighting 1776?

The optimists who tell us the giant divide splitting our nation isn't nearly as wide as we're imagining, that we have far more in common than not, are of course right, though not always in the way they mean.

[Lucky Luciano]

15. Stupidity and ignorance have never been excused by the law.

[Joinfortmill]

14. Totally agree.

Also, this won't be the last controversial decision he makes. Call it woman's intuition.

[BidenRocks]

2. I thought Rikers

was slated for closure.

[Eugene]

4. Closure is in the planning stages. Adams said in October that Rikers should close.

The replacement borough-based jails are under construction. In the mean time, this is a backward step.

[NYC Liberal]

5. It is, but there are several other city jails as well.

[Solly Mack]

3. ...

[BidenRocks]

6. I hope the lawsuits leave you

With enough to build your gulag.

[orangecrush]

7. +1

[oldsoftie]

8. Some are so bad they dont deserve to interact with others. nt

[Hortensis]

12. "Deserve" not the word I'd use, but yes. I doubt all those corrections

officers want solitary confinement restored because they're suffering from cruelty withdrawal but because an adequate alternative is not in place. Reforms need to include ways to reliably protect inmates from others that are as humane as possible.

[Javaman]

9. two bit coin mayor has his head up his ass. nt

[Voltaire2]

16. solitary confinement is torture and a crime against humanity