NYC Mayor Eric Adams vetoes bill banning solitary confinement in city

New York City Mayor Eric Adams vetoed a bill Friday that would ban solitary confinement in city jails.

“Under our administration, the city’s jails are getting safer — but this bill would have taken us in the wrong direction,” he said in a press release. “Vetoing this bill will keep those in our custody and our correction officers safer.”

“Our administration does not support solitary confinement in our jails, and New York City has not used the practice for years,” he continued. “In fact, we have achieved significant reductions in key indicators of violence in our correction system without solitary confinement.”

If passed, the legislation would require jails to allow inmates out of their cells for at least 14 hours each day to interact with others “unless for the purpose of de-escalation confinement or during emergency lock-ins,” per The Associated Press, which limits confinement to a maximum of four hours.

Last month, the New York City Council voted to advance the bill, with the city’s public advocate — Jumaane Williams — calling solitary confinement “indefensible.”

“Committing an infraction in jail can cause you to lose privileges, not basic human rights,” Williams said in a press release. “People in solitary are isolated, denied human contact and connection, denied support, and come out of these deplorable conditions worse than when they went in — and some don’t come out at all. Banning solitary — not just in name, but in practice — is good for public safety.”

House Democrats introduced a bill in July of last year to stop solitary confinement in federal prisons, jails and detention centers.

“Solitary confinement is a moral catastrophe,” said Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), who led Democrats in the introduction of the legislation, adding that the practice is “psychological torture.” 

“This practice is traumatic for people subjected to it, harmful to communities and isolating for loved ones,” she said. “Moreover, it is disproportionately inflicted on Black and brown folks, young people, LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized communities.”

Adams, a former police captain, also vetoed a separate bill that aimed to increase transparency in law enforcement encounters with civilians, arguing that it would hinder their work.

“We don’t want to handcuff police. We want to handcuff bad people. That’s the goal,” he said. “It’s about making sure we’re not preventing them from doing their job.”

The City Council confirmed to the AP that they are prepared to override both vetoes.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.