Thread by @ScottHech

THREAD: "All eyes on NYC." After vowing to expand torture on Rikers & then rejecting the majority of NYC City Council bc they weren't cops like him, the national campaign to abolish solitary issues a powerful demand to Eric Adams. Transcribed it here:unlocktheboxcampaign.org/2021/12/23/sol…

"Solitary confinement is torture. Causes intense suffering & devastating mental/physical harm. It should have no place in NYC or anywhere. Decades of research: IT *causes violence & worsens safety* for incarcerated people & staff, the very issues Adams claims to want to address."

"Solitary confinement is not only reserved for acts of violence, as officials [like Eric Adams] suggest, but often for anyone deemed unmanageable, including people w/ mental health needs & transgender people." For more on this, see here: silenced.in

"Mayor-elect Eric Adams vowed to reinstate the use of solitary confinement of individuals on Rikers Island and other NYC jails." Important point: Solitary confinement is really "a policy that never actually ended." cityandstateny.com/policy/2021/12…

Eric Adams provided "contradictory responses." "Doubling down on the use of punitive segregation & falsely claiming punitive seg wasn’t "solitary," all while stating that solitary is inhumane & that essentially there can be alternative forms of separation." Solitary is solitary.

There are alternatives: "So long as Rikers remains, and especially during this time of deep crisis, there are other ways to separate individuals if absolutely necessary for the prevention of violence and preservation of human life – ways proven to be more humane and effective."

"Examples in NYC itself & across the country have shown that alternative forms of separation from the general jail population that involve full days of out-of-cell congregate programming and engagement are actually what work to reduce violence and improve well-being."

"Moving away from isolation is imperative now more than ever in the midst of the ongoing deadly crisis of New York City’s jails. In 2021, 16 people have died preventable deaths, some of whom were in solitary confinement." Also COVID rates out of control:

https://twitter.com/ScottHech/status/1473519229286727681?s=20

From @UnlockTheBoxNow: "All eyes are on NYC. The incoming City Council & Mayor have an opportunity to move out of the current humanitarian crisis, decarcerate, & lead the country in ending solitary confinement & replacing it with proven alternative forms of separation."

"The leaders of NYC must meet w/, listen to, & engage w/ their constituents behind bars, & those who fight in partnership w/ them on the ground, & must move immediately to decarcerate & end solitary. The world is watching." unlocktheboxcampaign.org/2021/12/23/sol…