New York, May 7 (RHC)-- In New York, hundreds rallied outside the Capitol in Albany in support of a bill that would curb the use of solitary confinement. The HALT Solitary Confinement Act would limit solitary to a maximum of 15 consecutive days, compared to the current average of five months.

Author, professor and activist Cornel West spoke at the rally. West said: "Solitary confinement is torture, and is a crime against humanity. To lock folks up where 60 percent of them are there for soft drugs, and everybody knows 12 percent of those are on the chocolate side, 12 percent of those are on the vanilla side of flying high in the friendly skies every week taking drugs. But 65 percent of the convictions are chocolate. That just lets us know that the legacy of white supremacy is still operating in America."