NYC to end use of solitary confinement in jails: de Blasio

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- New York City will end the use of solitary confinement in its jails, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.

The New York City Board of Correction, an independent board that oversees the city's jail system, "will formally propose rules to end solitary confinement" in New York City jails at a meeting on Tuesday, de Blasio said in a press release Monday.

As part of the proposal, solitary confinement and "all other current forms of restrictive housing" would end on Nov. 1 of this year, the release said.

"From closing Rikers Island to ending solitary confinement for people under the age of 22, we have reoriented our correction system to value human life and rehabilitation," de Blasio said in a statement. "Now we are making good on our commitment to ban solitary confinement altogether, creating jails that are fundamentally smaller, safer and fairer."

The Board of Correction will hold two public hearings on the proposal in mid-April, the release noted.