Woman detainee dies at Rikers, fourth death in 30 days amid spike in NYC jails population
By Graham Rayman at the Daily NewsMarch 20th, 2025 A woman held on Rikers Island died by possible suicide early Thursday, according to correction officials and sources. The death, an apparent suicide according to sources, took place in West Facility and is the fourth fatality connected to New York City jails since Feb. 19. It […]
‘Dysfunction, violence and neglect’: Independent Rikers Commission releases new blueprint for island jail’s closure
By Jada Camille at amNYMarch 19th, 2025 The Independent Rikers Commission, a collective tasked with examining the city’s plan to close Rikers Island, has unveiled a critical blueprint for reform and closure of the infamous jail complex that has long been characterized by unsafe conditions, high operational costs, violence, and systemic dysfunction. The comprehensive report, […]
City cannot shut Rikers by 2027, landmark report finds
By Jacob Kaye at Queens Daily EagleMarch 19th, 2025 In a stark admission on Wednesday, the commission formed to map out the closure of Rikers Island said that the current 2027 deadline to shutter the deadly jail complex has become impossible for the city to meet. While the legally-mandated August 2027 deadline for Rikers’ closure […]
Connecticut organization fights food insecurity by teaching farming
By Sydney Boyo at NBC ConnecticutMarch 9th, 2025 Over 465,000 people in Connecticut are food insecure, according to Connecticut Foodshare, and learning how to farm can help combat this. Hundreds of people in Hartford learned how to grow and gather their own food on Sunday at the third annual Growing Power Workshop. “Anyone can learn […]
NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ plans to allow ICE into Rikers worry immigrant rights advocates
By Bianca Gonzalez at PrismMarch 4th, 2025 Adams has not yet issued the executive order, but immigrant rights groups say the move would target immigrants presumed innocent while awaiting trial at the jail complex. Immigrant rights groups are raising alarm about New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ plans to formally allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement […]
Advocacy groups say state prison agency can’t halt law limiting solitary confinement
By Rebecca C. Lewis at City and StateFebruary 24th, 2025 The commissioner of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision released a memo last week announcing that certain provisions of the HALT Solitary Confinement law would be suspended. A coalition of nearly 100 criminal justice reform organizations, public defenders and other advocacy groups sent […]
“He’s not standing up”: Protesters want Hakeem Jeffries to lead an aggressive opposition to Trump
Author: Russell Payne with Salon2/21/25 Hundreds of New Yorkers gathered outside the central Brooklyn office of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. D-N.Y., on Thursday to demand that the minority leader put up more forceful opposition to the administration of President Donald Trump and his billionaire benefactor, Elon Musk. “Hakeem Jeffries, where’s the firewall? Where’s your plan B? […]
Another Death in NYC Jail, as Mayor Adams Plans to Send in ICE
Author: Alexander Lekhtman with Filter2/20/25The New York City jails crisis is spiraling; a 34th person is now reported to have died in custodyunder the tenure of Mayor Eric Adams (D). Adams’ fate meanwhile hangs in the balance after aFebruary 19 court hearing. Multiple federal prosecutors resigned following the Trumpadministration’s move to dismiss corruption charges against […]
Man held on Rikers for 19 months becomes first to die in jails in 2025
Author: Jacob Kaye with Queens Daily Eagle2/20/25A 38-year-old man died on Rikers Island on Wednesday morning.Ramel Powell, who had been held in the city’s jails for nearly two years as he awaited trial, wasfound dead inside the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers around 2:14 a.m., according tothe Department of Correction.The DOC, which announced Powell’s […]
Rikers Island Sees Another Inmate Die in Custody Amid Calls for Federal Takeover – and Return of ICE
Author: Robert Pozarycki with amNY Date: February 19, 2025 Another individual incarcerated on Rikers Island has died, the Correction Department (DOC) announced early Wednesday morning. The unidentified inmate was found at an unspecified facility on the island during the early hours of Feb. 19, according to a terse statement from the DOC. The agency indicated […]
