Below is the testimony submitted by staff attorney Mik Kinkead on behalf of Sylvia Rivera Law Project at the Board of Corrections hearing on October 16, 2015. Re: Submission of Comments and Recommendations in Response to the Proposed Rulemaking Addressing Visitation, Packages, and Solitary Dear Chair Brezenoff and the NYC Board of Correction: The […]
Archive | Prisoner Rights Project
SRLP spoke up against solitary confinement and limitation on visitation rules at BOC hearing
By Sylvia Rivera Law Project on October 18, 2015 in Everyday Abolition, Legal, Membership, News, Policy Advocacy, Prisoner Rights Project, SRLP In The Media, SRLP Prisoner Advisory Committee
On Friday, October 16, SRLP staff and members, including India, Natalia, Olympia and Xena, along with our allies such as the Jails Action Coalition, attended a Board of Corrections hearing to speak up against the Department of Correction’s attempt to increase the use of solitary confinement to over 30 days and its attempt to curtail visitation […]
Stop Harsh New Restrictions on People in NYC Jails and Their Families!
By Sylvia Rivera Law Project on September 25, 2015 in Action Alert, Legal, News, Policy Advocacy, Prisoner Rights Project, SRLP News
The NYC Department of Corrections seeks to change rules to limit visitation and packages in NYC jails, which would negatively impact the conditions of those who are incarcerated and their friends and families. SRLP and many of our organizational friends and allies such as the Jails Action Coalition placed pressure on DOC’s governing body (the Board of Correction) to not vote on […]
SRLP Members and Staff Oppose Visitation Changes in NYC Jails
By Sylvia Rivera Law Project on September 22, 2015 in Action Alert, Legal, News, Policy Advocacy, Prisoner Rights Project, SRLP News, SRLP Prisoner Advisory Committee
The Sylvia Rivera Law Project was proud to join the Jail Action Coalition and its partner organizations for a rally and press conference on the steps of City Hall on Tuesday September 9. SRLP staff and members went out in 90 degree weather to protest the tightening of visitation and package restrictions on Riker’s and […]
SRLP’s Prisoner Justice Project Assists in Keeping #EyesOnRikers
By Sylvia Rivera Law Project on September 8, 2015 in News, Newsletter, Policy Advocacy, Prisoner Rights Project, SRLP News, SRLP Prisoner Advisory Committee
The Prisoner Justice Project (PJP) at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) has a long history of providing legal and supportive services to our transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex communities in state prison, and we have recently been able to focus even more of our efforts on our communities held in New York City jails. […]
New York City’s Trans Youth to be Impacted by Two Major Changes in Agency Policies
In June and July, New York State and City announced two important changes to laws and regulations governing the rights of transgender youth. The first, a guideline from the New York State Education Department, affects the treatment of transgender youth in school. The second, a guideline from the City of New York Administration for Children’s […]
SRLP co-leads training on how to support people experiencing violence in New York State prisons
On Thursday night, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project’s Prisoner Justice Project was proud to join allies at the Correctional Association of New York, National Lawyers Guild’s Prison Law Project, and the Law Office of Rankin & Taylor in training members of the Parole Preparation Project on legal and non-legal support for people experiencing sexual […]
The Board of Correction Voted to Move Forward with Controversial Rule-making Despite Serious Opposition
Recently, the Board of Corrections (BOC) voted on whether or not they would begin the rule-making process for several proposed new rules. The meeting focused on the potentially increased restrictions on packages sent to incarcerated individuals and restrictions on full contact visits at New York City jails. The rule-making process would also incorporate higher maximum sentences for […]
SRLP signs letter to the Board of Corrections to address suicidality in NYC jails
By Sylvia Rivera Law Project on July 14, 2015 in Legal, News, Prisoner Rights Project, SRLP Prisoner Advisory Committee
As we mourn the death of Kalief Browder and the many other New Yorkers who die through State-induced violence, SRLP joins activists from across the city in calling on the Board of Corrections to make wholly new and meaningful changes to how suicidality is cared for in the City jails. We request that outside experts […]
SRLP’s recommendations to the Board of Corrections on PREA
One of SRLP’s mission is to fight the violence our communities experience, which requires resisting against the Prison Industrial Complex. Part of this process involves addressing and mitigating some of the most harmful effects of institutional violence experienced by those who are incarcerated. Recently our staff attorney and Director of Prisoner Justice Project, Mik Kinkead, […]