Five Omar Mualimmak spent 2,054 days in solitary confinement. Listen to Mr. Mualimmak's first-hand account of his time in solitary.
As part of a day-long conference on youth in solitary confinment, the Cardozo Journal of Law and Gender's keynote speaker Five Omar Mualimmak discussed his experiences in solitary confinment. Also at the conference students from Cardozo's Youth Justice Clinic released a comprehensive report called Rethinking Rikers, which called for an end to solitary confiment for youthful offenders as well as a therapeutic model for dealing with 16-18 year-olds in prison. New York is one of two states where 16-year-olds are treated by the courts as adults. The conference panels debated the impact, effectiveness and legal issues surrounding the extensive use of extreme isolation in prison systems throughout the country. A full list of panelists is below.
In a related news story Prof. Alex Reinert working as co-counsel with the New York Civil Liberties Union reached a settlement in the days following the conference that ended solitary confinment in New York State for jureniles, pregnant women and the developmentally challenged. Read about Prof. Reinhert's successful case here.
LIFE IN THE BOX
YOUTH IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
Cardozo Journal of Law and Gender
Symposium 2013-2014
PANEL ONE
Growing Up in Solitary: The Effects of
Extreme Isolation on Youth in New York's Prisons
This panel will provide the facts and justifications for placing youth in solitary confinement in New York's prisons. The speakers will examine the psychological, physical and developmental effects of extreme isolation on youth; identify groups that are disproportionately represented in solitary; and discuss the potential for reform in New York.
Panelists
Jennifer J. Parish (Moderator), Director of Criminal Justice Advocacy,
Urban Justice Center's Mental Health Project
Brian Fischer, Former Commissioner of NY State's Dept. of
Corrections and Community Supervision
Scott Paltrowitz, Correctional Association of New York
Commissioner Joseph Ponte, State of Maine, Department of Corrections
Dilcio Acosta, Criminal Justice Advocate, Urban Justice Center
Alisha Williams, Staff Attorney with the Sylvia Rivera Law Project
and the Director of SRLP's Prisoner Justice Project
PANEL TWO
Juveniles in Solitary Confinement:
Rehabilitation or Torture?
The second panel will explore the uses of solitary confinement and the potential human rights violations associated with this practice. Panelists will discuss the international law and human rights violations, as well as consider testimony that has been presented before the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Inter-AmericanCommission on Human Rights and the U.S. Senate on the topic of solitary confinement in the U.S.
Panelists
Michael Corradini (Moderator), Senior Program Associate,
Center on Immigration and Justice, Vera Institute of Justice
Amy Fettig, Senior Staff Counsel, American Civil
Liberties Union National Prison Project
Dr. Homer Venters, Attending Physician at the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture and Medical Director for NYC DOHMH at Rikers Island Jail
Ian Kysel, Dash/Muse Fellow with the Human Rights
Institute, Georgetown School of Law
Cynthia Soohoo, Director of the International Women's
Human Rights Clinic, CUNY Law School
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Five Omar Mualimmak, New York Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement Mr. Mualimmak spent 2,054 days in solitary confinement in Rikers Island. Listen to Mr. Mualimmak give a firsthand account of his time in solitary and discuss the physical, psychological and emotional impacts solitary had on him.