‘The mayor lied to us’: Criminal justice activists in NYC demand new way to end solitary confinement

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Elected officials and civil rights advocates called Mayor Bill de Blasio’s pledge to end solitary confinement on Tuesday “toothless.”

On Aug. 3, just two days after politicians and civil rights advocates sent a letter to City Council Speaker Corey Johnson calling for a meaningful end to solitary confinement, they once again banded together at City Hall to demand Mayor Bill de Blasio and Speaker Johnson put a stop to the HALT Act violations and truly ban what many feel is an inhumane procedure.

In June, the New York City Board of Corrections (BOC) voted to end solitary confinement in City’s jails, implementing a new alternative disciplinary model, the Risk Management Accountability System (RMAS).