A New York judge has ordered the state's prison system to reinstate a law that places limitations on the use of solitary confinement. On Wednesday, Albany Supreme Court Judge Daniel Lynch ordered the HALT Act, which was central to a statewide prison workers strike earlier this year, be reinstated.
The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision stopped adhering to some aspects of the law during the strike as officers said the law led to increased violence in their facilities.
In issuing his temporary injunction, Lynch said the department “wholly failed to demonstrate” that suspending the solitary confinement restrictions was necessary.