Both Sides of the Bars Episode 408: Halting Solitary Confinement: A Solution to a Decades-Long Practice

On Monday, June 29, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he would stop the use of solitary confinement in city jails. This historic move marks a victory for people jailed at Rikers Island and for advocates who say the practice of holding people alone in cells for hours on end without meaningful human contact amounts to torture. The announcement comes after the death of Lalleen Palonco, a 27-year-old transgender woman who died in solitary confinement last June after a seizure. The Mayor also shared that he is creating a “working group” that will be charged with devising a plan to eradicate solitary confinement.

Host Andre Ward interviews Stanley Richards, Executive Vice President of The Fortune Society. Stanley is also the Board of Correction vice-chair and he has been appointed by the Mayor to chair the working group made up of three other leaders in the field to eradicate solitary confinement.