FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 21, 2019
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New Jersey Legislature Approves Bill Restricting Solitary Confinement
Washington, DC - On June 20, 2019, the New Jersey legislature passed legislation that if signed into law will be the first comprehensive legislation limiting the use of solitary confinement enacted by a state legislature. The Isolated Confinement Restriction Act (A314/S3261) passed the Senate in a 26-3 vote and the Assembly in a 49-24 vote with 5 abstentions. The legislation now heads to Governor Phil Murphy, who affirmed his support for the bill during his gubernatorial campaign in 2017.
"Our legislators have made the right choice today, as they did in 2016," says Rev. Charles Boyer of Salvation and Social Justice. "And we trust that our governor will take the bold step necessary to ensure that New Jersey corrections system is more humane and, ultimately, safer for all involved."
Across the United States, momentum to end the use of solitary confinement has grown tremendously as a result of coordinated campaigns led by survivors of solitary and their families, mental health professionals, legal advocates, and faith leaders.
"The passage of the Isolated Confinement Restriction Act shows that our legislators are exemplifying the type of political courage that we all need. It shows that they are on the right side of justice by curbing torture inside of New Jersey prisons," said Johnny Perez, New Jersey resident and Director of U.S. Prisons Program for the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. "We hope that Governor Murphy will keep his campaign promise and sign the bill into law."
A similar bill cleared the New Jersey legislature in 2016 and was vetoed by then-Governor Chris Christie. Advocates with the New Jersey Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement continued education and advocacy efforts to end the torture of solitary confinement. The coalition includes formerly incarcerated individuals, several faith communities and organizations, the ACLU of New Jersey, and Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE), the labor union that represents nurses in New Jersey prisons.
"Ending torture is non-negotiable," said Justice Rountree, an organizer with the New Jersey Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement. "Solitary confinement is torture. In that cell, I was driven to consider suicide."
An increasing number of state legislatures and corrections officials are embracing humane alternatives to solitary confinement. In 2017, the Colorado Department of Corrections eliminated solitary confinement beyond 15 days. North Dakota Corrections Director Leann Bertsch has implemented similar reforms, inspired by rehabilitative-centered alternatives she witnessed in corrections departments in Norway. In 2019, 28 state legislatures introduced bills limiting the use of solitary.
The New Jersey bill places limitations for consecutive days spent in solitary (20 days) and maximum number of days in solitary within a 60 day period (30 days). Also, the bill prohibits any member of vulnerable populations, as classified by clinical staff, from being placed in isolation. Vulnerable populations include people aged 21 and younger, people aged 65 and older, people with developmental disability, people with a disability based on mental illness, people with serious medical conditions, and people who are pregnant.
"New Jersey is on the verge of taking historic moral leadership on ending the torture of solitary confinement by law -- giving hope and comfort to every family member in the state who has a loved one in prison," said Rev. Ron Stief, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture.
The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is a membership organization committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Since its formation in January 2006, more than 300 religious organizations have joined NRCAT, including representatives from the Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant, Unitarian Universalist, Quaker, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Baha’i, Buddhist, and Sikh communities. Members include national denominations and faith groups, regional organizations and local congregations.
NRCAT.org @NRCATtweets facebook.com/nrcat
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