The notorious jail had its deadliest year in a decade, while the flow of narcotics and weapons into the complex continues. Source: New York Times
Posts published in “Prisons and Prisoners”
New York to Pay as Much as $300 Million for Release Delays at Rikers
By Gotham Rex on November 29, 2022
Detainees at the jail complex were held for hours or days after they made bail. Each one is now due $3,500, according to a legal settlement. Source: New York Times
Report Tracking Rikers Jail Violence Will Be Hidden, Judge Orders
By Gotham Rex on November 21, 2022
A monitor appointed to oversee the jails said the information should be held in confidence so that it is not taken out of “context.” Source: New York Times
Hundreds of Women Set to Sue New York Over Prison Sex Abuse Allegations
By Gotham Rex on November 16, 2022
A law that takes effect on Nov. 24 allows people to sue over years-old assaults long past the criminal statute of limitations. Source: New York Times
Lawyers for Rikers Detainees Will Ask Judge to Impose Federal Control
By Gotham Rex on November 14, 2022
As conditions deteriorate, lawyers say it’s time for last-resort oversight of Rikers Island. This year, 18 people have died after having been held in New York City jails. Source: New York Times
Three NYC Corrections Officers Accused of Faking Sick Leave
By Gotham Rex on November 10, 2022
As New York City’s jails faced a staffing crisis, federal prosecutors said the officers used falsified sick notes and lied about trips to the doctor to avoid going to work. Source: New York Times
14 Guards at New Jersey Women’s Prison Are Indicted Over Beatings in 2021 Raid
By Gotham Rex on September 28, 2022
The guards entered the women’s cells to forcibly remove them. One woman was punched almost 30 times. Source: New York Times
They Pay $500 a Month for a Loft in Brooklyn
By Gotham Rex on September 27, 2022
A lucky couple lives on the top floor of a building that was once a potato chip factory. Source: New York Times
Jails Boss Pushed for Dying Man’s Release to Limit Rikers Death Count
By Gotham Rex on September 27, 2022
Louis A. Molina, New York City’s jail commissioner, told his senior staff to ensure that a dying man was “off the department’s count.” Source: New York Times
Billy McFarland Is Out of Jail and Ready for His Next Move
By Gotham Rex on September 10, 2022
Five years after the Fyre Festival, the convicted fraudster is planning a comeback. Source: New York Times
Rikers Guards Watched as Man Bled From Razor Wound
By Gotham Rex on August 30, 2022
A captain and two correction officers were suspended last week for failing to intervene for at least 10 minutes after a man slit his throat with a razor, bleeding out in his cell. Source: New York Times
Tracking the Deaths in the Rikers Island Jail Complex 2022
By Gotham Rex on August 15, 2022
12 have died so far this year, a pace suggesting last year’s eight-year high will be surpassed. Source: New York Times
Ricardo Cruciani, Who Sexually Assaulted Patients, Found Dead at Rikers
By Gotham Rex on August 15, 2022
Ricardo Cruciani was found with a sheet around his neck in a shower weeks after his conviction. He was the 12th person to die this year in custody or shortly after release. Source: New York Times
City’s Admissions That It Can’t Care for Rikers Detainees May Propel Suits
By Gotham Rex on August 6, 2022
The family of Herman Diaz, who choked to death on an orange, filed the first case relying on the documents. Dozens more may follow. Source: New York Times
How New Yorkers Push the Limits
By Gotham Rex on August 3, 2022
From speed zones to traffic crossings to parking rules, city residents try to get away with going a little faster, or cutting it close, or being a little later. Source: New York Times