(East Meadow, NY) On Saturday, December 14th, representatives of human rights, civil liberties, and religious organizations will join formerly incarcerated people and family members of those in solitary confinement at a vigil in front of the Nassau County jail to bear witness against the routine use of extreme and prolonged isolation. Advocates will also demand that the County comply with the judicial decision ordering the establishment of the Board of Visitors oversight committee.
Billed as a “Teach-in and Speak-out,” the vigil will feature advocates from the New York Campaign for Alternatives to Solitary Confinement (CAIC) as well as individuals who have been directly affected by the use of solitary confinement. The vigil will conclude with the words of people currently in solitary, read by representatives of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT).
According to CAIC, New York’s prison and jails use solitary and other forms of isolated confinement far too broadly and routinely, and for periods of time that far exceed the 15 day-limit recommended by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. New York holds people in 23-hour-a-day isolation at rates significantly above the national average. On any given day, there are nearly 4,500 people, disproportionately people of color, in New York State prisons who are in special housing units (SHU) and thousands more locked down in their own cells.
The vigil will also call on the County to establish the jail oversight board mandated by the county charter. After months of attempting to work with the County to create the long overdue board, the New York Civil Liberties Union sued County Executive Ed Mangano seeking a judgment ordering the county to comply with the charter mandate. In March, a judge ordered the County to establish the board within ninety days. Although Mr. Mangano made his nominations, the County Legislature, despite calls from advocates and families, has failed for over 8 months to put the issue on an agenda for discussion and a vote.
- WHAT: “Confronting Solitary Confinement as Torture”
- WHEN: Saturday, December 14, 2013, 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM
- WHERE: 100 Carman Avenue, across the street from the Nassau County Jail
- WHO: Rev. Paul Johnson, Senior Minister, UU Congregation at Shelter Rock, Charles McAlister, Advocate, Second Chance Re-Entry Program, Peace Poet Luke; Peace Poets Collective, Janet Susin, National Alliance for Mental Illness, Jason E. Starr, New York Civil Liberties Union
