The New York City Council voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to ban the use of solitary confinement in city jails—a measure that Mayor Eric Adams has vowed to veto. Adams, a former NYPD officer, and officials in the jail system have both said it is a justified punishment for inmates who grossly violate rules and endanger others, and claim that abuse of the practice has been curbed in recent years. Nonetheless, advocates for more humane prison practices liken solitary confinement to torture, including United Nations officials who have weighed in on the topic. The city’s new measure would ban the practice beyond a “de-escalation” period lasting no longer than four hours.
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