August 17, 2006 —Governor Pataki has vetoed a bill that would have prohibited mentally ill prisoners from being put in solitary confinement. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports:

Advocates for the mentally ill say it's cruel and inhumane to keep prisoners who suffer from diseases such as schizophrenia and manic depression in isolation. They tell stories of inmates who've attempted suicide or whose conditions have been extremely exacerbated.

The bill would have required prisoners with a mental illness be transferred to treatment programs instead. The Governor says the state is already committed to making sure mental health services are given to inmates who need them.

The Governor says he vetoed the bill because it limits the Department of Correction's ability to maintain order inside prisons. He also says the state's office of mental health was concerned it would disregard its clinicians assessments and exclude people who were not severely mentally ill.

The bill passed the Repubican run Senate by a unanimous vote. According to advocates more than 700 mentally ill prisoners are currently in solitary confinement in New York. For WNYC, I'm Cindy Rodriguez