×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
New York Prison Officials Found Routinely Violating HALT Act With Overuse of Solitary Confinement
Loaded on Feb. 15, 2025
by Matthew Clarke
published in Prison Legal News
February, 2025, page 54
Filed under:
Disciplinary Hearings,
Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement,
Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
Location:
New York.
by Matt Clarke
On June 18, 2024, the New York Supreme Court for Albany County found that the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) routinely violated Correctional Law § 137(6)(k)(ii), the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement (HALT) Act, by subjecting prisoners to solitary confinement that …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- New Mexico Corrections Department Continues Pattern of Abuse With Contract Medical Provider Wexford Health Sources, by Sam Rutherford
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- BOP Shutters “Rape Club” in California, Director Peters Quits
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Presumption of Innocence Not Violated by Jail Courtroom
- Fifth Circuit Revives Texas Prisoner’s Sleep Deprivation Claim—Again
- San Francisco Supervisor Calls for “Mass Arrests” and Compulsory Addiction Treatment in “Drug Jails”
- Arizona To Resume Executions
- Washington Spends Only Fraction of Fund to Improve Prisoner Welfare
- Prisons Don’t Fix Rural Poverty—They Make It Worse
- Eleventh Circuit Tells BOP Prisoner in Georgia: Bivens Is On “Endangered Species List”
- Rikers Island Continues Long Practice of Denying Education to Young Adults, by Douglas Ankney
- Biometric Monitoring Comes to Washington Jail
- Philadelphia Agrees to $9.1 Million Settlement for Wrongful Murder Conviction, by David Reutter
- USDC (D. Oregon), Case No. 6:22-cv-00451, by Matthew Clarke
- Florida to Trans Prisoners: We’re Coming for Your Bras
- U.S. Navy Exonerates Wrongly Convicted Black WWII Sailors
- 20 South Carolina Prisoners Sentenced So Far for Deadly 2018 Riot
- Long Wait List for Texas’ Only College-Level Re-Entry Class for Prisoners
- Florida Prisoners Sue Over Deadly Heat
- $220,000 Settlement After Woman Dies in Ohio Jail From Drug Withdrawal, by Anthony Accurso
- Seventh Circuit Offers Wisconsin Prisoner Just a Little Help in Suit Alleging He Was Held in Feces-Stained Cell Without Water
- Legal Gaffe Prolongs Case of Former St. Louis Detainee Held Eight Months After Dismissal of Charges, by Matthew Clarke
- State Forces Minneapolis Jail to Ship Out Detainees
- Monterey County Pays $1 Million to Settle Suit Over Detainee Suicide by Toilet Tissue; Wellpath Pays Another Undisclosed Sum, by Douglas Ankney
- Michigan Allows More Releases for Medically Frail Prisoners
- Medicare Now Available to Those on Probation and Parole
- Sixth Circuit Revives Challenge by Kentucky Prisoner Left Three Weeks in “Rancid” Paper Undershorts, by Douglas Ankney
- BOP Eases Money Grab from Federal Prisoners
- Among World Nations, Individual U.S. States Near Top of List for Per Capita Incarceration, by Matthew Clarke
- Tennessee DOC Found in Violation of ADA With Failure to Accommodate Hearing Impaired Prisoners
- Washington DOC Physician Assistant Surrenders Medical License in Wake of Malpractice Allegations, by Sam Rutherford
- HRDC Files Suit on Behalf of Florida Man Wrongfully Convicted and Incarcerated for 31 Years
- Federal Prison Oversight Act Becomes Law
- Despite Prevalence, Most ADHD Behind Bars Goes Undiagnosed and Untreated
- $9.9 Million Paid to Washington Prisoner Whose Misdiagnosed Cancer Is Now Terminal
- Indiana Resumes Executions
- Cuyahoga County Judges Vowed to Reform the Bail System. Here’s What Happened., by Ilica Mahajan, Rachel Dissell
- Philadelphia Held in Contempt of Jail Conditions Settlement, Ordered to Pay $25 Million
- Louisiana Prisoner Charged With Running Sports Gambling Operation
- Sixth Circuit: Leaman Doctrine Did Not Bar Ohio Prisoner’s Pro Se Federal Civil Rights Suit Over Interference with Legal Mail
- Fourth Circuit Revives Claims Against Virginia Jailers by Detainee They Allegedly Manhandled While Handcuffed, by Douglas Ankney
- DOJ Directs BOP, U.S. Marshals to Improve Suicide Prevention
- Minnesota Supreme Court Says Randy Guard Must Face Prisoner’s Sexual Harassment and Assault Claims
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates North Carolina Prisoner’s Failure-to-Protect Claim Against Guard in Stabbing, by Douglas Ankney
- Arkansas Moving Some State Prisoners from County Jails… to a Former County Jail
- Oregon Pays $50,000 to Settle Retaliation Suit by PLN Contributor, Who Wins Release
- DOJ Settles Complaints About Conditions for Disabled Detroit Jail Detainees, by Matthew Clarke
- $150,000 Settlement But No Charges After Schizophrenic Florida Detainee Killed by Jail Guards
- California Prisoner Allegedly Ran Alaska Drug Ring from His Cell
- Oregon Holds BLM Protestor in Solitary Confinement for 250 Days
- New York Prison Officials Found Routinely Violating HALT Act With Overuse of Solitary Confinement, by Matthew Clarke
- Harvey Weinstein Files Notice of Claim Over Rikers Island Detention
- Prison Profiteers Ready to Help Trump Make Good on Deportation Threats
- Oregon DOC Investigation Puts Top Medical Officials on Leave
- Ohio Guard Killed by Prisoner in Christmas Day Attack
- Two Mississippi Prisoners Escape in One Month
- Charges Dismissed Against Connecticut Guards Who Assaulted Prisoner
- California Governor Pardons Former Prisoner Podcaster of “Ear Hustle”
- Historic $7 Million Settlement in Lawsuit Over Michigan Jail Prisoner’s Fatal Beating, by Matthew Clarke
- New York Governor Orders Firing of 13 Guards, Nurse in Prisoner’s Fatal Beating
- Former South Carolina Jailer Spared Prison After Testimony Fails to Convict Former Sheriff
- Nearly 800 California Prisoners Battle Huge Los Angeles Wildfires—for About $1 an Hour
- Thousands Freed from Syrian Prison
- Tennessee Finalizes New One-Drug Execution Protocol
- News in Brief
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Federal Court Grants HRDC Preliminary Injunction Against Mail Censorship at New Mexico Jail, May 1, 2026
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, May 1, 2026
- Federal Court Places Medical Care in Arizona Prisons Under Receivership, May 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, May 1, 2026
- Texas Moves to Restrict Cashless Bond and Reverse Federal Court-Ordered Misdemeanor Bail Reform, May 1, 2026
- In Texas, Harris County Commissioners Approve $1.2 Million for Fourth Study of Jail Since 2020 After Dozens of Abuse Allegations, April 1, 2026
- Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, April 1, 2026
- D.C. Judge Blocks Transfer of Biden-Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners to “Supermax,” Citing Lack of Meaningful Due Process, April 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026
- Groundbreaking Statistical Study of Pregnant Texas Jail Detainees Finds Over 400 Monthly, April 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Fourth Circuit Revives North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit Blaming Lazy Guards for Assault by Detainee, May 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
- New York Juvenile Detention Officials Sued for Abusing Adolescents with Solitary Confinement, May 1, 2026. Sanitation, Lockdowns, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Juvenile Prisons, Confinement in Segregated Housing.
- $1.25 Million Paid for Special Needs Teen’s Fatal Beating in Houston Jail, May 1, 2026. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Trump Approves Firing Squads for Federal Executions, May 1, 2026. Death Penalty, Domestic Violence, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Method of Execution, Hate Crimes.
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, May 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Damages, Evidentiary Ruling, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- $750,000 Paid by NaphCare for New York Jail Suicide, May 1, 2026. Naphcare, Jail Specific, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Federal Jury Awards $307.6 Million to Former Michigan Prisoner After Corizon Refused Surgery, Forcing Him to Wear Colostomy Bag for Two Years, May 1, 2026. Corizon, Systemic Medical Neglect, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Damages - Compensatory, Deliberate Indifference.
- Class Certification Granted to Suit Challenging Suspension of HALT Act in New York Prisons, April 1, 2026. Injunctions, Class Certification, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Guard Unions, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- $1 Million Paid by Cuyahoga County for Detainee’s Preventable Suicide in Cleveland Jail, April 1, 2026. Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Monell Liability, Deliberate Indifference.
- D.C. Judge Blocks Transfer of Biden-Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners to “Supermax,” Citing Lack of Meaningful Due Process, April 1, 2026. Transfers, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Fifth Amendment, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Prison Classification.

