Scapegoating halt: Contested legitimacy though formal conforming & informal rebuking

Abstract

In 2022, New York (NY) state passed the Humane Alternatives for Long-Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act, restricting solitary confinement and mandating rehabilitative services. Critics argue HALT increases carceral violence by limiting disciplinary discretion, while the NY Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (NYDOCCS) argues violence predates HALT. This study, drawing on interviews with 15 staff and 87 residents from two NY men's prisons, examines carceral violence and reform as threats to legitimacy through the lens of institutional theory. Interviewees reported heightened perceptions of violence, though few directly attribute it to HALT. Staff cited reduced disciplinary authority, while residents noted more punitive staff behavior. The findings reveal legitimacy crises for both staff and residents, as NYDOCCS faces pressures to rebuke HALT. Thus, HALT emerges as a scapegoat for persistent carceral violence, its potential hindered by entrenched routines and misperceptions. Addressing violence as a legitimacy issue is key to achieving meaningful and sustainable prison reform.