New York corrections officials will no longer place inmates under 18 in segregated housing — a face name for solitary confinement — reports the Associated Press. In some cases, prisoners as young as 9-years-old were subjected to “special housing.” This common sense policy wasn’t adopted by prison brass because they all of a sudden had a change of heart, but due to lawsuit filed and won by Prisoners’ Legal Services. Per there terms of the settlement, there will be some other changes as well:
The agreement includes a review of juveniles under 21 currently or formerly in special housing to determine their education needs. It also includes hiring social workers for juveniles in new housing units, limiting juveniles’ disciplinary confinement and considering age as a mitigating factor in disciplinary cases.
Last month, the New York City Correction Department announced that it will stop reprimanding teen inmates at Rikers Island to solitary confinement, due in part to a critical report by the United States attorney office about the practice, so yeah, apparently the idea of not keeping kids caged up like animals for up to 23 hours a day is becoming a thing.
(Photo: Michael Coghlan)
