Statement from Mayor Bill de Blasio on Punitive Segregation

January 26, 2016

“President Obama’s plan to end punitive segregation for juveniles is a smart, forward-thinking step. For far too long, young people were placed in punitive segregation for months or years on end with no thought to the dangerous psychological effects this might cause. This is why Commissioner Ponte and I ended punitive segregation for all 16 and 17-year-olds on Rikers Island in 2014. It’s why we are ending punitive segregation for 18 to 21-year-olds this year. And it’s why we have opened alternatives to punitive segregation for young people on Rikers, where they can be safely supervised instead of harmfully isolated. Today, President Obama spoke loud and clear: we can keep jails and prisons safe while treating our youngest inmates humanely- and we must.”

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