This Settlement Advances Ongoing Efforts by Virginia Advocates for Justice to Limit the Use of Solitary Confinement

On Friday, the ACLU of Virginia, the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center and a team of pro bono lawyers finalized a settlement agreement in Reyes v. Clarke et al., a federal case challenging the treatment by the Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) of a person with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) who had been held in solitary confinement for nearly 13 years at Red Onion State Prison, a supermax facility. Under the agreement, VDOC will adopt a comprehensive, department-wide policy to provide access to interpretation and translation services for people incarcerated in its facilities. In addition, the settlement provides relief for the plaintiff, Nicolas Reyes, as the only pathway out of solitary was inaccessible to him because he could not read, write or speak English.

ARTICLE IN THE RICHMOND-TIMES DISPATCH  

“We hope that VDOC will view this as an opportunity to do right by Mr. Reyes and by so many others and create a language access policy that will be a model for other correctional agencies,” said Vishal Agraharkar, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Virginia. Pro bono attorney Jaclyn Roeing added, “Before the settlement, Mr. Reyes and other people with limited English proficiency were unable to meaningfully access prison services because of language barriers that were routinely ignored. VDOC’s agreement to adopt a language access policy is vital to ensuring that all people are treated fairly.”

“Mr. Reyes has suffered unnecessarily for more than a decade in conditions no one should ever have to endure,” said Maggie Filler, an attorney with the MacArthur Justice Center. READ MORE

SALT commends the ACLU for their work in correcting an abhorrent injustice.  Their success demonstrates the urgency of our ongoing  advocacy efforts, in solidarity with our coalition partners, to end the inhumane practice of solitary confinement in Virginia. It is long past time to end solitary confinement by supporting SB 1301. Other states have already taken action to end this cruelty.  So can Virginia!