Even as Mayor Bill de Blasio has emptied out the city’s jails, the number of people who are placed in punitive segregation each year has remained about the same. Source: New York Times
Posts published in “Prisons and Prisoners”
Making Art When ‘Lockdown’ Means Prison
By Gotham Rex on September 24, 2020
The harshness of life behind bars is designed to crush inmates’ individuality. But a stirring exhibition at MoMA PS1 shows the prison-industrial complex can’t stifle the artistic impulse. Source: New York Times
N.Y.C. to Pay $5.9 Million in Death of Layleen Polanco at Rikers
By Gotham Rex on August 31, 2020
Layleen Polanco had a fatal epileptic seizure while in isolation, an investigation found, spurring calls to end solitary confinement and close the jail complex. Source: New York Times
Sister Elaine Roulet, 89, Dies; Aided Imprisoned Mothers and Their Children
By Gotham Rex on August 22, 2020
Changes Sister Elaine helped bring about at the Bedford Hills prison for women in New York State allowed inmates and their offspring to bond. Source: New York Times
Prison Inmate Hanged Himself With Coronavirus Mask, Officials Say
By Gotham Rex on August 14, 2020
Daniel Ocasio was found inside his cell at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center in Uncasville, Conn., prison officials said. Source: New York Times
Violence at Rikers at an ‘All-Time High’ Despite City’s Promise to Curb It
By Gotham Rex on August 6, 2020
A federal monitor found that the number of times guards at the jail complex used force against inmates rose 54 percent, even as its population shrank. Source: New York Times
Should N.Y. Be Jailing Parolees for Minor Lapses During a Pandemic?
By Gotham Rex on August 2, 2020
On probation since 2018, Earl Russell was sent to Rikers for sleeping in his own bed instead of in the shelter where he was mandated to stay. Source: New York Times
About 20% of N.J. Prisoners Could Be Freed to Avoid Virus
By Gotham Rex on July 30, 2020
Believed to be the first Covid-19 bill of its kind, the legislation could free more than 3,000 New Jersey prisoners who are within a year of release. Source: New York Times
Judge Orders Cohen Released, Citing ‘Retaliation’ Over Tell-All Book
By Gotham Rex on July 23, 2020
A judge agreed that federal officials had returned Michael D. Cohen to prison because he wanted to publish a book this fall about President Trump. Source: New York Times
Government Denies Cohen Was Imprisoned to Stop Trump Book
By Gotham Rex on July 22, 2020
Michael Cohen, the president’s former lawyer, said he was returned to prison as retaliation for writing a tell-all memoir about President Trump. Source: New York Times
Michael Cohen Claims in Suit He Was Imprisoned to Stop Trump Book
By Gotham Rex on July 21, 2020
President Trump’s former lawyer said in court papers that officials returned him to prison to prevent him from finishing a book that paints the president as a racist. Source: New York Times
Sheldon Silver, Former N.Y. Assembly Speaker, Will Finally Go to Prison
By Gotham Rex on July 20, 2020
Mr. Silver receives a sentence of 78 months after two trials. He had asked for home confinement, arguing that he was vulnerable to the coronavirus. Source: New York Times
Spike in N.Y.C. Shootings Leaves 64 Shot and 10 Dead
By Gotham Rex on July 6, 2020
The victims included a young father who was shot while holding hands with his 6-year-old daughter in the Bronx. Source: New York Times
Michael Cohen, Ex-Trump Lawyer, Leaves Prison Early Because of Virus
By Gotham Rex on May 21, 2020
Mr. Cohen, who pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and other crimes, had been imprisoned at a minimum-security camp in New York. Source: New York Times