Letters to the Editor: Punished For Life [NYTimes.com]

Behind Bars, All Alone

TO THE EDITOR:

Re “Punished for Life” (Aug. 4): In the wake of President Obama’s pointed comments on the overuse and dangerous effects of solitary confinement, elected officials and prison and jail officials in every level of government must take action.

At Brooklyn Defender Services, we see firsthand the devastation wrought by solitary confinement on our clients. They often fall into a devastating cycle of rules infractions, solitary confinement, decompensation and more rules infractions.

Legislation introduced in New York State would end the torture of solitary confinement and create more humane and effective alternatives. The Humane Alternatives to Long-Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act would limit time in “the Box” to 15 days to comply with the United Nations standard, prevent the use of isolation to silence whistle-blowers, and expand programming and support for incarcerated people — reducing recidivism and making us all safer.

More than 5,000 of our fellow New Yorkers are in solitary right now, and we owe it to them to call our state legislators and urge support for the HALT Solitary Confinement Act today.

Lisa Schreibersdorf Brooklyn

The writer is executive director, Brooklyn Defender Services.

[For more go to http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08...s-to-the-editor.html]