What happened to Biden’s promises on criminal justice reform?
By Max Burns, Opinion Contributed via The Hill Back in his 2020 run for the White House, Joe Biden won over the skittish left in part because of his willingness to take big, bold stances on hot-button issues like criminal justice reform. From interrupting the so-called “school to prison pipeline” through boosts to mental health […]
Rikers Island detainee collapses, dies during basketball game in the first 2024 jail death
By: Erin White via 1010 WINS/Audacy A detainee on Rikers Island died on Thursday after collapsing during a basketball game, marking the first New York City jail death of 2024, officials said. The Department of Correction said that Chima Williams, 43, died at the Eric M. Taylor Center at about 9:45 a.m. Williams was shooting […]
NYC Mayor Adams pledges to close Rikers Island but wavers again over 2027 deadline
By: Elizabeth Kim and Jessy Edwards via Gothamist.com Mayor Eric Adams is pledging to shutter the long-troubled Rikers Island jail complex but recently outlined a number of challenges that could hamper the city from meeting the legally mandated closure deadline of 2027. “Idealism can’t collide with realism,” Adams said during an interview on NY1 on Friday. “We want Rikers […]
NYC Activists Rally as Rikers Receivership Decision Delayed
By: Alexander Lekhtman via Filter Magzine On December 14, a federal judge held the New York City Department of Correction in contempt of court, as Gothamist reported, for failing to inform a federal monitor that it had placed detainees accused of arson in a specialized unit with no sprinklers in cells. “The blatant failure to communicate here […]
New York City Mayor Promotes Austerity and the Carceral State
By: Margaret Kimberley via Black Agenda Report Over the weekend, our lead organizer Melanie Dominguez joined Black Agenda radio to discuss Mayor Eric Adams’s proposed 5% budget cuts to city agencies and the negative impact they will have on Black, Brown, and low-income communities across the city. She also spoke about our campaign to shut […]
New York City Has Days to Agree On Plan to Combat Rikers Abuses
By: Alexander Lekhtman via Filter Magazine federal judge is demanding that New York City take rapid action over conditions in its Rikers Island jail complex. The jail is supposed to be shut down by 2027, but remains rife with severe violence, abuse, and other human rights concerns. All eyes are now on New York Mayor […]
Federal Monitor Chides City Jails Brass for Increased Violence, Lies
By: Reuven Blau via The City As pressure mounts for the city to turn things around at Rikers Island, Department of Correction Commissioner Louis Molina and his staff tried to hide multiple assaults as jail conditions “have only worsened,” according to the latest report by a judge-appointed watchdog. “The jails remain dangerous and unsafe, characterized […]
Man Dead At Rikers, Becoming 8th Inmate [ Incarcerated Person] To Die In NYC Custody In 2023
By: Cailin Loesch via Patch.com NEW YORK CITY, NY — A man in Rikers Island died Tuesday morning, becoming the eighth New Yorker to die in city jail custody this year, advocates said. Donny Ubiera, 33, died inside the jail’s George R. Vierno Center, according to a statement from The Legal Aid Society. Advocates insisted […]
Department of Correction: 8th person dies at Rikers Island this year
By: News 12 Staff via News12 Brooklyn Department of Correction: 8th person dies at Rikers Island this year Aug 22, 2023, 1:27pmUpdated 23h ago By: News 12 Staff 0:13 / 1:59 1:59 An eighth person has died this year at Rikers Island on Tuesday, according to the New York City Department of Correction. The DOC said Donny Ubiera, 33, was […]
Rikers Island detainee dead of suspected drug overdose; 8th fatality in city Correction Department custody in 2023
By; Thomas Tracy via NY Daily News A 33-year-old Rikers Island inmate arrested for back-to-back stabbings in Queens last year was found dead in his cell early Tuesday — the eighth city Correction Department detainee to die in custody or shortly after release in 2023, officials said. Donny Ubiera was found unconscious in his cell at Rikers’ George R. […]
