Help pass Bill (S1634) to Protect New York State Inmates in Special Housing Units

New York State Correctional Facilities use special housing units other known as the box to inmates as a form of punishment for prisoners who dont follow the rules. Inmates who are sent to a SHU are locked up in a 14 x 8 cell 23 hours per day. For one hour, they are released into an empty 9 x 7 caged balcony for recreation. Special housing units offer no rehabilitative services, no recreational programs, no educational programs, and no outside contact.
Psychological experts say even for people with no prior history of mental illness, detainment in a SHU can cause psychiatric symptoms, including depression, paranoia, agitation, manic activity, delusions, and even suicide. Inmates who already have a mental illness are more likely to be held in a SHU, because they may have greater difficulty complying with rules and social norms in the general prison population. Dr. Stuart Grassian, a psychiatrist who has studied how SHUs impact inmates mental health, submitted the following testimony in a lawsuit against Attica State Prison. During the course of my involvement as an expert, I have had the opportunity to evaluate the psychiatric effects of solitary confinement in well over 100 prisonersI have observed that many of the inmates so housed have histories of psychiatric and/or neurological difficulties, and for many inmates, incarceration in solitary caused either severe exacerbation or recurrence of preexisting illness, or caused the appearance of an acute mental illness in individuals who had previously been free of any such illness.
As of right now under New York State law, there is no limit on the amount of time an inmate can spend in a SHU. There are also no clear administrative standards used to determine the length of time a prisoner spends in solitary for violations of prison rules.
State senator Vellamanette Montgomery has introduced a bill (S1634) that would limit the use of SHUs to extreme cases involving highly dangerous and violent behavior. It would also, except in extreme cases, limit SHU confinement to a maximum of 90 days. Cases in which someone is held longer would be reviewed every 90 days by an independent review board. The review board would include a mental health professional and a former inmate. The bill would also prevent inmates with mental illness from being confined in a SHU (whether the mental illness preceded such confinement or developed during the course of such confinement). Lastly, the bill would require that mental health professionals monitor the mental health status of SHU inmates, and it would allow mental health professionals to have confidential meetings with those inmates.
If you believe that this bill should be passed sign this petition and also call senate majority leader Joseph Bruno (518) 455-3191; Governor Pataki (518) 474-8390; and assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver (518) 455-3791. Tell them that you are extremely concerned for the 5,500 prisoners currently locked up in special housing units in New York state prisons. Urge their support for the legislation introduced by senator Montgomery (S1634).