Rikers Island To End Solitary Confinement of Older Teens

By Carla Murphy Jan 14, 2015

Rikers Island jail will extend its recently announced ban on solitary confinement to older adolescents, aged 18-21. Only 16- and 17-year-olds had previously been covered under an earlier announcement and the extension is being hailed "an innovation." According to Christine Herrman, director of the Segregation Reduction Project at the Vera Institute, even the most innovative jails punish inmates over age 18 with solitary confinement. Of nearly 500 inmates, ages 19-21 in the facility, 103 are currently in solitary. Not everyone is pleased, however.

Corrections officers’ union president Norm Seabrook vowed to sue for every guard assaulted under the new policy.

A federal investigation into Rikers found what it described as, "a deep-seated culture of violence." In 2014, according to data obtained by the Associated Press, guards set a record for use of force–many times against teens. 

Read more in The New York Times.