NYC Mayor Eric Adams blocks law that would have limited amount of time inmates spend in solitary confinement

New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued an emergency executive order blocking a law that would have prevented inmates from spending extended time in solitary confinement, just one day before the law was supposed to go into effect.

Citing risks to “health and safety” in New York City jails, Adams declared a local state of emergency and blocked three parts of a local law that was initially passed with overwhelming support by the city’s council in December.

That includes part of the law that would have effectively banned solitary confinement or “punitive segregation” for inmates accused of breaking prison rules. It would have placed limits on the amount of time a person can be in solitary confinement or restrictive housing and added additional oversight to the practice.

Adams has vocally opposed the law, claiming it puts other inmates, and correctional officers, at risk of violent incidents. He tried to veto it in January but the city council overrode his veto.

Now, the law will be placed on a 30-day hold or until it is rescinded.

Adams has accused proponents of the law of misleadingly using the words “solitary confinement” to describe the practice of removing violent individuals from the general population.

“There is no solitary confinement in New York State, it has been banned,” Adams told Wake Up With Angela Lee last week. “What people are doing is a bait and switch. They know that the term ‘solitary confinement’ hits at our emotions so they’re calling what they’re attempting to do in solitary confinement.”

The mayor defines solitary confinement as “22 hours or more per day in a locked cell and without meaningful human contact”. He has called it “inhumane and barbaric. That practice was eliminated from New York City jails