A new report from New Jersey Prison Justice Watch (NJPJW) claims that the NJ Department of Corrections has not complied with the Isolated Confinement Restriction Act (ICRA), which became law over five years ago.
The report, titled “Isolated Voices: The State of Solitary in NJ,” results from a two-year data collection effort by advocates to evaluate ICRA implementation. It includes statistical trends and written testimonies from incarcerated individuals and concludes with policy recommendations. Overall, “Isolated Voices” asserts that little progress has been made in implementing ICRA by state corrections and facility administrators.
“'Isolated Voices is a testament to the value of truth-telling,' says Donte Hatcher, one of the NJPJW organizers responsible for assembling the report. 'New Jersey prison administrators may say they are following the law, but by taking seriously the voices of those who are enduring this dehumanization, we know what’s really happening. And unfortunately, what’s really happening is essentially nothing, in terms of seeing meaningful change in prison housing practices.'”
NJPJW released their report during a webinar hosted by the Latino Action Network Foundation on October 1. The webinar featured testimony from survivors of solitary confinement, including Donte Hatcher, Paul Boyd, and Prince Alvarado–all current Rutgers students–and Susie Guardia, whose son is currently held in custody in a New Jersey prison. Jim Sullivan, Deputy Policy Director of the ACLU of New Jersey, also spoke at the event.
“'Survivors of solitary confinement have long reported that prolonged isolation amounts to torture. Though the Isolated Confinement Restriction Act intended to protect incarcerated people from extreme physical and psychological trauma brought by solitary confinement, it can only be as successful as its implementation. As the first-person testimony in the NJPJW report illustrates, even if DOC provided all it claimed to improve living conditions for incarcerated people, that standard would still be insufficient under the law. To ensure that ICRA lives up to its promise, New Jersey must strengthen oversight and urge the Legislature to examine compliance with the law,' said ACLU-NJ Deputy Policy Director Jim Sullivan.”
“Isolated Voices” concludes with four policy recommendations: two urging that the Department of Corrections review and strengthen its oversight of ICRA implementation and two addressing roles for both Legislature and Office of Corrections Ombudsman. The Ombudsman’s office is frequently mentioned as it provides independent prison oversight. Their October 2023 report drew special praise from NJPJW for highlighting inconsistencies between legally required "out-of-cell" time and actual hours offered.
“'About a year ago,' said Terry Schuster, NJ Corrections Ombudsman,'I reported findings based on surveys and official logs that people being punished for breaking prison rules were offered less than four hours per day out of their cells.' He added: 'The report released this week by Prison Justice Watch looks beyond disciplinary housing units to everyday conditions in places like New Jersey State Prison. It explains stakes extended confinement publishing experiences incarcerated people own words.'”
The full text “Isolated Voices: The State Solitary NJ” available view download njpjw.org/2024report.
