Testimony by the Federal Anti-Solitary Taskforce
Suspended Progress, Endangered Lives: A Call to Restore the HALT Solitary Confinement Law
February 27, 2025
NEW YORK – Last week, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community
Supervision Commissioner Daniel Martuscello III issued a memorandum illegally purporting to
indefinitely suspend provisions of the HALT Solitary Confinement law, as the state struggles to
respond to an illegal corrections officers strike that has left incarcerated individuals without
adequate access to food, medicine, and essential services. Unlock the Box, a national leader in
the fight to end solitary confinement, condemns this suspension in the strongest terms. We
demand that New York immediately rescind this decision. Using solitary confinement as a
“solution” to the strike—punishing people already enduring inhumane conditions—is not only
grossly ineffective but blatantly immoral.
The HALT Solitary Confinement law was passed with overwhelming supermajority support in
both the Senate and Assembly. Its intent is clear: to reduce the use of solitary confinement in
New York, a practice that violates fundamental human rights and has been shown to exacerbate
trauma and worsen safety. The continued use of solitary confinement beyond the prescribed
limits is internationally recognized as a form of torture. New York must honor the law it
committed to, and ensure that prisons are places of rehabilitation, not merely punishment.
Reverting to cruel and ineffective measures in the face of an illegal work stoppage fails everyone
involved.
“This illegal suspension of the HALT law is not only a policy misstep—it’s a flagrant violation
of the rights of incarcerated individuals and a betrayal of our collective commitment to human
dignity. We must not allow our progress toward more humane, restorative practices to be
undermined by actions that are both misguided and unlawful. I urge Governor Hochul and the
New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to immediately restore
the full protections of the HALT law and reaffirm their commitment to protecting the most
vulnerable from inhumane isolation” says, Jessica Sandoval, National Director, Unlock the Box
Campaign.
