A report by the New York State Commission of Correction has urged the Justice Department to investigate possible civil rights violations in the death of a Rikers inmate, which resulted from “gross incompetence,” reports the New York Times. It is the latest damning report in a series that have, over the past six months, detailed […]
A new report by the Department of Investigation has uncovered yet more dysfunction at the troubled Rikers Island prison. The New York Times reports that more than a third of the 153 recently hired corrections officers “had problems that either should have disqualified them or needed further scrutiny” during the application process. The “red flags” […]
On Wednesday, a jury found former Rikers captain Terrence Pendergrass guilty of a civil rights violation in the death of an inmate two years ago. The New York Times reports that Pendergrass is the first officer to be tried for such a crime “in more than a decade.” He may serve up to 10 years […]
An ex-Rikers corrections officer says that his boss repeatedly encouraged disciplining inmates off-the-books, and when one mentally ill inmate ingested a detergent ball that contained bleach, the supervisor let the man die a slow and painful death. Raymond Castro testified in court that his former supervisor at Rikers Island, Capt. Terrence Pendergrass, would routinely endorsed keeping inmate […]
Mayor Bill de Blasio has realized just how messed up things are at Rikers Island, and has vowed to make prison reform “a top priority,” reports the New York Times. De Blasio, speaking at a news conference on Thursday, remarked that prisoners released from Rikers exit “more broken than when they came in,” and concluded […]
A new report (PDF) released by the Department of Investigation — an NYC agency that vows to “get the worms out of the Big Apple” — reveals that one of its investigators was able to smuggle various types of illegal contraband into the jails at Rikers Island. The New York Times reports that the investigator […]
In three instances where inmates on Rikers Island were beat to death, none of the guards responsible are facing criminal charges reports the AP. The families of victims Angel Ramirez, Clarence Mobley and Ronald Spear have all sued the prison and two have settled, but it’s proven almost impossible to charge correctional officers criminally, according to lawyers […]
Andy Henriquez died in his solitary confinement cell from a torn aorta, in severe pain, while guards ignored his and other inmates’ cries for help, DNAinfo reports. After a shocking report detailing institutionalized abuse, rights violations, a “culture of violence” and frequent medical emergencies experienced by young inmates at Rikers Island, other cases of systemic corruption are being brought to light, […]
On WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show on Tuesday morning, fill-in host Manoush Zomorodi was doing a segment about yesterday’s Department of Justice report on the rampant abuses, corruption and civil rights violations of adolescent inmates at Rikers Island. Toward the end of the segment, around the 26-minute mark, Zomorodi goes to the phone lines to take an anonymous […]
Earlier this year, we noted that mentally ill people at Rikers Island would no longer be put in solitary confinement. Today, the New York Times exposed a massive culture of violence at the jail complex, largely directed at the mentally ill. The article details hideous abuses. There were several incidents of multiple guards ganging up against one prisoner […]
