Activists come to Albany to reform solitary confinement

[hrmjustin]

Paul Grondahl

Albany

More than 100 prisoner advocates will lobby legislators Monday to end long-term solitary confinement in the state.

The daylong effort will include family members of inmates kept for months and years in solitary, which advocates consider cruel and unusual punishment. Studies have found the practice of extended punitive isolation can contribute to depression, mental illness and suicide attempts.

The group calls itself New York Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement, and they're attempting to advance a bill introduced by Democrats in the Senate and Assembly that would create alternative housing for prisoners who have been in solitary longer than 15 days — a limit recommended by a United Nations report on torture. Their legislative visits will focus on Republican lawmakers.

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Activists-come-to-Albany-to-reform-solitary-5452737.php

[hrmjustin]

1. Cornell West headlines prisoners' rights rally at Capitol

http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-Top-Stories-c-2014-05-05-87809.113122-Cornell-West-headlines-prisoners-rights-rally-at-Capitol.html