New York State officials have proposed a three-year timeline to phase in new rules to curtail the amount of time prisoners can stay in solitary confinement.
The proposed rule changes published Wednesday show that officials plan to cap solitary confinement time to 30 days by 2022. New York's prisons agency says the changes will come with a $69 million cost in fiscal year 2020.
Leading Democrats announced a plan in June to restrict use of solitary confinement. That plan included the 30-day cap and prohibitions on putting pregnant women and adolescents into isolation.
The agreement came after lawmakers failed to pass legislation that would have banned putting a prisoner in isolation for more than 15 consecutive days. The proposed rules have raised objections from advocates.
