Mayor
Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday a
plan that would put an end to solitary confinement in New York City jails.
The
mayor and the Board of Correction's proposal would eventually end the practice
of taking inmates away from others and leaving them alone as punishment for
their crimes.
De
Blasio says the plan provides a safe environment for officers and inmates.
He
says it would end solitary confinement and the use of routine
non-individualized restraints like handcuffs.
The
proposal would put in place support plans and have periodic disciplinary reviews.
It
would also allow inmates 10 hours out of the cell and socialization with at
least one person.
The
mayor says they want inmates to improve themselves while they are incarcerated.
"We
found it is much more important to work on redeeming those who are
incarcerated, to give them education and training," de Blasio says.
"To show them a pathway beyond jail, to a better life, not to set back
their progress with mistaken approaches like solitary confinement."
The
plan would take months to
be put into place if approved.