ALBANY — A new report shows a drop in solitary confinement sanctions in New York prisons while another form of isolation saw an uptick in recent years.
The report from the New York Civil Liberties Union released Monday says the total number of “keeplock” sanctions increased every year from 2015 through 2018.
It says prisoners serving that punishment are usually allowed to keep their personal property, but are still isolated for up to 23 hours a day.
New York state officials have proposed a three-year timeline to phase in new rules aimed at restricting solitary confinement.
But the report argues that a legislative proposal that failed last session would provide a “more humane path forward.”
That proposal would have banned putting a prisoner in solitary confinement for more than 15 consecutive days.
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