New York state prisons violate solitary confinement rules, judge says

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A judge has ruled that New York’s state prison system has been holding inmates in solitary confinement for too long, in violation of state law. State Supreme Court Justice Kevin Bryant said in a decision filed Thursday that the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision did not provide sufficient evidence to refute allegations that it has failed to follow the limits on solitary confinement enshrined in state law in 2021. The decision comes after local advocacy groups sued last June, claiming the state routinely flouts limits on solitary confinement enshrined in law in 2021. The corrections department said it is reviewing the court’s decision.