Davon Washington

      Davon Washington was a prisoner in Albany, NY that was in prison for attempted robbery. He was accused of attacking a guard and he was beaten and thrown in solitary confinement. He was forced to stay in solitary confinement for 360 days. He had bruises from the guards beating him. He decided to sue the city for transferring him to the facility in Albany, NY and claiming that the knew that he would be put in solitary confinement. New York City passed a law not allowing people under 21 to be placed in solitary confinement. Davon thought that they sent him to Albany to make sure that he went into solitary confinement.

      The new law in New York City was passed because of a prisoner named Kalief Browder who committed suicide after spending 3 years at Riker's Island. A lot of his time was spent in solitary confinement. After everything in his case, all of his charges were dropped so essentially he was put through prison for no reason.

      As a result of the lawsuit, the mayor of New York City agreed to stop sending minors to the Albany correctional facility. Davon was pleased to hear that nobody would have to be put through solitary confinement at such a young age. Along with Davon, he sued with 3 other men who experienced the same thing. His party was awarded $980,000 for the damages that the state has caused them. The 4 men will split the money. The men hope that this lawsuit will discourage the city from hurting other people's lives in the future.

      Along with solitary confinement the New York system has received many complaints about guard abuse. This should also be under investigation because guards shouldn't be allowed to hurt and beat inmates even though they have authority over them. This is another problem that is difficult to solve. New York City needs to be accountable for their actions in the prison system.

Ransom, Jan. “Beaten and Left in Solitary Confinement, He Thought He Would Die.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 Oct. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/10/20/nyregion/rikers-inmates-solitary-lawsuit.html.