The below letter from staff attorney Delia Addo-Yobo appeared in the New York Times on August 4, in response to the July 29 article “Adams Blocks Law Banning Solitary Confinement in Jails.”

Prolonged solitary confinement is a recognized form of torture under international human rights law, yet it is used freely in the U.S. The recent law banning solitary confinement in New York City jails is a necessary step forward in securing human rights for all.

Mayor Eric Adams’s declaration of a state of emergency to block the law ignores the real emergency: an epidemic of suicides and mental health crises among jailed people that solitary confinement only exacerbates. In 2022, Mr. Adams presided over the deadliest year in nearly a decade in New York City jails, with suicide rates under his watch skyrocketing to historic heights and 20 percent of the jail population diagnosed with serious mental health issues.

Studies show that a third of people held in prolonged solitary become psychotic and/or suicidal within two weeks. They are also 78 percent more likely to die by suicide within a year of being released, in addition to being at increased risk for a slew of mental and physical health issues.

And while most studies find no causal link that solitary confinement makes jails safer, at least one study shows that severe mental health deterioration caused by segregation leads to increased aggression.

Solitary confinement does not keep anyone safer. There is a human cost to putting people in solitary confinement. It is the destruction of one’s mind, body and soul.