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07/11/2019
TRENTON –
Governor Phil Murphy today signed A314 into law, which restricts the use of
isolated confinement in New Jersey’s correctional facilities. The legislation
codifies into law certain existing New Jersey Department of Corrections
policies, places limits on the use of long-term isolated confinement, and
restricts the use of isolated confinement on vulnerable populations.
“By signing this
historic legislation, we are furthering our commitment to the continued
transformation of our criminal justice system and ensuring it reflects New
Jersey’s core values of safety, dignity, and fairness,” said Governor Murphy.
“I am proud to stand together with New Jersey’s criminal justice reform
advocates and legislators to advance a humane correctional system that allows
for the safe operation of facilities and focuses on strengthening reentry
initiatives, substance use disorder treatment, and recovery programs.”
“This bill will codify certain existing New Jersey Department of Corrections policies into law and prevent isolated confinement from wrongful overuse in the state of New Jersey by future Administrations,” said New Jersey Department of Corrections Acting Commissioner Marcus O. Hicks. “The Department of Corrections strives to rehabilitate the offender population and prepare them for success. Limiting the overuse of isolated confinement will further assist the Department in achieving this goal.”
The bill prohibits
inmates incarcerated or detained in correctional facilities from being placed
in isolated confinement unless there is reasonable cause to believe that the
inmate or others would be at substantial risk of serious harm as evidenced by
recent threats or conduct, and that any less restrictive intervention would be
insufficient to reduce that risk, subject to certain limited exceptions.
Furthermore, members of vulnerable populations, including individuals under 21
and over 65, individuals with disabilities, pregnant women, and LGBTQ
individuals, are prohibited from being placed in isolated confinement except in
rare, specified circumstances. The bill further provides that no inmate is to
be placed in isolated confinement for more than 20 consecutive days, or for
more than 30 days during any 60-day period.
Primary sponsors of
the legislation include Senators Nellie Pou and Sandra Cunningham, and Assembly
members Nancy Pinkin, Shavonda E. Sumter, and Valerie Vainieri Huttle.“The
excess use of isolated confinement has led to severe consequences for the
physical and mental health of incarcerated men and women,” said Senator Pou.
“When this country was founded, we vowed that Americans would be free from the
fear of cruel and unusual punishment. Unregulated isolated confinement does not
meet that standard and I am proud that today, in New Jersey, we will be
treating incarcerated people with the dignity they deserve."
“Our state holds over
5 percent of its detainees in solitary confinement, despite extensive evidence
that is causes lasting mental health damage,” said Senator Cunningham. “Using
it with the regularity that we do is not only unnecessary but unjust. Unless a
person is of clear and present danger to those around them, they should not be
placed in isolated confinement. This legislation is long overdue and I am
grateful to see it signed into law.”
“There is significant
proof that solitary confinement can have a severe, long-term negative impact on
an inmate’s mental health,” said Assemblywoman Pinkin. “The overuse of
isolation in New Jersey’s correctional facilities can cause irreparable
psychological damage that affects people while they are in prison and detracts
from former inmates’ ability to make positive contributions to their
communities thereafter.”
“In addition to this
being a moral issue, it’s also a serious health care concern. Solitary
confinement very often is associated with anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide,”
said Assemblywoman Sumter, Director of Behavioral Health Services at Hackensack
UMC Mountainside Hospital. “This is a method that should be employed as a last
resort, only in extreme cases, and with extreme care. A convict may have
committed a crime, but he or she is still a human being and deserves to be
treated as such.”
“For children, the
elderly, pregnant women, and those with mental illnesses or developmental
disabilities, the effects of solitary confinement – which can have a damaging
effect on anyone – are downright devastating,” said Assemblywoman Vainieri
Huttle, Chair of the Assembly Human Services Committee. “As New Jersey works to
reform its criminal justice system by prohibiting the arbitrary overuse of
solitary confinement, it’s important that we emphasize protecting members of
these vulnerable populations.”
“I am extremely
encouraged by Governor Murphy’s historic move to restrict the use of isolated
confinement in New Jersey’s prisons,” said Rev. Charles Boyer, Pastor of Bethel
AME Church in Woodbury and the founder of Salvation and Social Justice. “This
is one of the most compassionate, progressive, and morally just solitary laws
in the nation.”
“The voices of
survivors of solitary confinement, and their strength in summoning up some of
the worst moments of their lives to stop the routine use of prolonged
isolation, have been the moral ballast responsible for making these historic
restrictions law,” said J. Amos Caley, Lead Organizer of the New Jersey
Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement and Associate Pastor of the
Reformed Church of Highland Park. “The power of this movement – led by
survivors who have refused to stand by while others experience the agony of
prolonged isolation – can serve as a guide for others around the nation to act
on the imperative of ending long-term solitary confinement.”
“The agony of solitary
confinement is that it doesn’t just lock up your body – it locks in your mind,”
said Nafeesah Goldsmith, a community organizer and a survivor of solitary confinement.
“For New Jersey to institute dramatic restrictions on solitary acknowledges the
suffering we’ve endured, along with the scars we’ll bear for the rest of our
lives. I’ve said before that solitary confinement is pure evil, incapable of
resulting in anything but dehumanization and degradation – but as of today, I
can point to one very small exception: all that I went through strengthened my
voice to bring us closer to the goal of ending this diabolical practice once
and for all.”
“I am glad to see that
the Governor has signed this important piece of legislation,” said Lawrence
Hamm, Chairman of the People’s Organization for Progress. “It is a necessary
step in the overall effort to reform the criminal justice system. The United
Nations has recognized solitary confinement as a violation of human rights.
This bill, which would restrict the use of solitary confinement, is a step in
the right direction. I thank the Governor for signing this bill.”
"The signing of
this legislation brings the U.S. closer to international standards. To deprive
people of natural light, exercise, and meaningful human contact unnecessarily
and for prolonged periods of time is inhumane," said Justin Mazzola,
Researcher at Amnesty International USA. "Solitary confinement should only
be used in exceptional circumstances and for as short a period as possible – we
need more policies that reflect that."
“Prolonged isolation
is cruel, undermines human dignity, and has profound, lifelong consequences,”
said Laura Pitter, Deputy Director, U.S. Program, Human Rights Watch. “By
passing this law, New Jersey has acknowledged this fact, severely limited this
horrendous practice, and furthered an important human rights standard.”
“This is another
historic and enormous step forward, again, towards criminal justice reform for
New Jersey,” said Cuqui Rivera, Criminal Justice Reform Chair of the Latino
Action Network. “Solitary confinement is a practice that has further broken
human beings already struggling with the realities and anguish of incarceration,
most, who do return to our communities. This is a torturous practice that the
former Administration would not even acknowledge. We applaud the Governor’s
reserve in keeping his word in his signature of this legislation. In this
moment in our country, watching the unbearable madness of child concentration
camps ripping families apart, at least in New Jersey, we say no to torture. We
stand ready to work now further towards its implementation. Thank you, Governor
Murphy.”
“This law is a
testament to its driving force: the voices of survivors of solitary confinement
who led this movement to stop the suffering they were forced to endure,” said
ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha. “No law can make up for the lives that
have been lost – no policy can reclaim the futures that have been sacrificed to
the torment of prolonged solitary confinement – but this law acknowledges that
no one deserves to forfeit their humanity in long-term isolation. This turning
point for New Jersey is a milestone in a powerful, unyielding national
movement. We know New Jersey’s historic step forward will inspire advocates and
lawmakers throughout the country to make prolonged solitary confinement a thing
of the past. We applaud Governor Murphy and the Legislature for prioritizing humanity
by passing and signing this bill into law.”
“We applaud the
Governor for signing the solitary confinement bill,” Richard Smith, President,
New Jersey State NAACP. “We believe that, on issues related to social and
economic justice, the Governor sees these issues through the lens of a former
national NAACP Board member. We look forward to continuing to work with him as
we transform the criminal justice system and address centuries-old
problems.”
