[BwayDems] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- O'DONNELL, ROZIC BILLS TO COMPLY WITH COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE'S RECOMMENDATIONS PASS CORRECTION COMMITTEE

[Callie Wilson]

NEWS FROM ASSEMBLY MEMBER DANIEL O'DONNELL

Contact: Callie Wilson, 206-898-2918; callieewilson at gmail.com
245 W 104th Street, New York, NY 10025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

O'DONNELL, ROZIC BILLS TO COMPLY WITH COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE'S
RECOMMENDATIONS PASS CORRECTION COMMITTEE

February 3, 2015 – Today, Assembly Correction Committee Chair Daniel
O’Donnell and Committee Member Nily Rozic’s bills to reform New York’s
solitary confinement laws passed the Correction Committee, and will now
advance to the Codes Committee. The bills would conform New York’s
standards to recommendations issued by the United Nations Committee Against
Torture in November.

“I am proud that the Correction Committee has passed A1346 and A1347 as
quickly as we have,” said *Assembly Member O’Donnell*. “Following the
Committee Against Torture’s report, it is all the more clear that the
reforms contained within these bills are vital and urgent. New York’s
prisons should be places of rehabilitation, not counterproductive
punishment. These bills will contribute to that goal by making solitary
confinement a true measure of last resort and banning its use for
particularly vulnerable inmates who are under 21, pregnant, or mentally
ill.”

“Knowing that excessive periods of isolation can lead to emotional,
physical, and psychological harm, we must continue to build on recent
efforts to ban the use of solitary confinement as punishment. Now that we
have passed these bills through committee, we are another step closer to
reforming New York’s correctional facilities and creating an environment
that focuses on rehabilitation and safe re-entry,” said *Assemblywoman Nily
Rozic*.

“I welcome the leadership of Assembly Member O’Donnell and the Correction
Committee of the NY State Assembly to introduce measures here at home to
limit the use of solitary confinement so that it is not used against minors
or persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities, or pregnant
women, and is also limited – so that it becomes a measure of last resort
rather than routine punishment,” said *Felice Gaer, Director of the Jacob
Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights and Vice Chair of
the UN Committee Against Torture*, speaking in her personal capacity. “This
reflects respect for the Committee’s recommendations, which are aimed at
ensuring humane treatment of persons held in detention.”

“Prolonged solitary confinement is barbaric and a flagrant human rights
violation that must be ended, for everyone,” said *Soffiyah Elijah*,
Executive Director of the Correctional Association of New York. “The
irreparable damage it causes can never be justified. These bills represent
a significant step toward reducing the over-reliance on solitary
confinement in New York State, and I applaud Assembly Members O'Donnell and
Rozic for making them a top priority. I encourage the legislature to move
quickly to pass these bills and protect everyone who is incarcerated in New
York. We must never forget that people are sent to prison as punishment,
not for punishment.”

*Donna Lieberman*, Executive Director of the New York Civil Liberties
Union, added, “excessive and arbitrary imposition of long term solitary
confinement in New York is incompatible with principles of dignity and
fairness. It causes lasting and devastating harm that make it harder for
prisoners to re-enter society after they pay their debt to society.”

###

Assembly Member O’Donnell has represented the 69th Assembly District since
2003. His district includes Morningside Heights, Manhattan Valley, and
portions of the Upper West Side. He serves as the Chair of the Correction
Committee, and of the Codes Subcommittee on Criminal Procedure; and is a
member of the Education; Codes; Environmental Conservation; Judiciary;
Oversight, Analysis & Investigation; and Tourism, Arts & Sports Development
committees.
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