Lara: At the center of the recent strike by New York correction officers is the HALT Act. A lot of talk about this. Reversing the HALT Act was one of the main demands of the striking correction officers. So, what is it, and why do they want it repealed? We’ve got managing partner Paul Harding from Harding Mazzotti here with us today. So, Paul, thanks for being here.
Paul: Sure.
Lara: What is the HALT Act?
Paul: So, HALT Act came about in 2022, and what it is, it restricted the ability for the correction officers to use solitary confinement. And solitary confinement, for some people, they said, no, you can’t even use it at all if they meet a vulnerable class. Instead, we should work towards rehabilitation. It was a great idea, but it was resisted, to a large extent, by the correction officers.
Lara: That’s right. And it wasn’t ever really fully implemented here. But why was it enacted?
Paul: Well, it was enacted because they felt this was a form of torture. You know, solitary confinement. How many days can you be in there? And would it bring about more dangerous effects once they got out? And so, it was a way that the officers to kind of maybe put something over their heads, “Hey, you’re gonna be in solitary confinement.” But if they know it’s only for a day and a half, they sort of lost some of that momentum.
Lara: So, is that why the correction officers opposed it? Or what was the reason why?
Paul: Yeah. Well, they felt, and the statistics did play out, that there were more attacks on correction officers once the solitary confinement rules, the HALT Act, came about, but once those rules were changed. So, they didn’t like it for that reason. And of course, things were just kind of imploding everywhere. So, as we all know, that that has been such a hot button in the news that this thing has just gotten maybe a little more attention than it would have if everything else didn’t happen simultaneously.
Lara: And what do we foresee happening with it now? What’s the likelihood that it will be reversed or fully implemented?
Paul: Yeah. So, the only way to do it is to repeal that law and to implement another law. And so, there are some laws that are being worked up, but we all know with the legislature, nothing’s gonna move quickly. And then, of course, that law does have a little bit of a kick-out clause. It says, well, if they do something heinous or something that is super dangerous, you can still use solitary confinement. So, the fact that it had a little wiggle room, I guess they’re gonna probably be using it as they see fit. And then legislature’s gonna revisit to see if they need to change it. I don’t think it’s gonna be completely repealed. I think we’re gonna see it changed.
Lara: Okay. All right. Good to know. Thank you so much for filling us in.
Paul: Absolutely.
