Ezekiel Edwards

Correcting Corrections

The New York Times reported yesterday that New York City, in response to a lawsuit brought by the Legal Aid Society, has agreed in a settlement to revise its guidelines governing correction guards' use of force against prisoners, provide more training for corrections officers on how to restrain inmates, set up hundreds of new video cameras in the jails (to watch both guards and inmates), and revise its investigation procedures regarding violent incidents. Included in the new guidelines is an express prohibition against "blows", including those to the head, whenever a less dangerous option is available (one would have hoped such an "instruction" had already occurred to the guards). The changes will be instituted in all 11 city jails. In addition, as part of the settlement, the city agreed to pay $2.2 million to 22 inmates injured by corrections officers. Both sides to the dispute reacted positively to the agreement, with the city claiming vindication regarding some of the more serious allegations in the lawsuit --- such as a pattern of abuse --- while Legal Aid hailed the long-awaited implementation of reforms.

Although it remains to be seen how seriously the city takes this settlement and how thoroughly it executes the settlement's obligations, at this juncture it represents a positive step forward for the city and its corrections officers, one that will hopefully lessen the brutality of life for people being held in city jails.

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Posted at 8:00 AM, Mar 02, 2006 in Criminal Justice
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