In April, criminal justice reform advocates in New York celebrated the signing of a new law that limits solitary confinement to fifteen days. The law—called the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act—puts New York among only a few other states that have restricted solitary to a significant degree for everyone in prison. (Other states have banned solitary for vulnerable people such as youth and those with mental illness.)

But shortly after the law passed, the New York City Board of Correction—which monitors and inspects the city’s jails—approved a separate policy in June that would, advocates believe, reimpose solitary confinement. It is set to go into effect in November.