The call of incoming New York City mayor Eric Adams for solitary confinement in the Big Apple jails just got a much-needed boost.
A black law enforcement organization expressed support to Adams’ position on revamping solitary confinement in New York City jails amid a push by lawmakers to ban the practice.
“Our elected officials cannot have it both ways; you should have the same attitude about crime within the jails by incarcerated residents as you do in society,” Damon Jones, New York representative of Blacks in Law Enforcement of America said.
In a statement, the group said they are supporting Adams’ position on punitive segregation in jails through its members recognizing “the need for more conscious and humane correctional policies towards incarcerated residents.
The group cited the New York Post’s reporting on a spike in assaults against Department of Correction staff as part of its justification for backing punitive segregation.
“Our correctional facilities are a microcosm of society,” Jones, who works in Westchester County’s Department of Correction added.
Earlier, Adams slammed the members of the NTC council and called them as ‘disruptive’ pols’ for pushing a bill that would bar the use of solitary confinement in city jails.
Adams is not happy with the plans of the 29 members of the City Council who signed a letter sent a letter that demanded passage of the legislation.
“I am not going to be in a city where dangerous people assault innocent people, go to jail and assault more people,” Adams said.
“You cannot have a jail system where someone sexually assaults a staffer, slash an inmate and then say it is all right,” Adams added.
Adams explained there is a need to impose solitary confinement in NYC jails to instill fear and discipline among prisoners that if they do bad things in jail they can be subjected to punitive segregation.
“There is a body of people that are coming into the City Council, they have no desire in moving our City forward,” he said.
“Their desire is to be disruptive. What am I going to do? I’m going to ignore them. I’m going to stay committed, undistracted and I’m going to grind,” he added.
The city council members earlier pushed the bill to oppose solitary confinement since it is against the United Nations law.
“Solitary confinement is considered by the United Nations, human rights organizations and medical and mental health experts to be a form of torture,” they wrote.
“It causes intense suffering and has taken the lives of countless New Yorkers,” they added.
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