Protesters calling for Rikers Island shutdown

3 years ago 322

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Protesters volition rally extracurricular New York City Hall connected Wednesday and telephone for Mayor Bill de Blasio to shutdown Rikers Island.

The protestation comes 1 time aft New York Attorney General Letitia James toured the jailhouse analyzable on with the territory attorneys from the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens.

She says she was "deeply disturbed" by what she saw.

"I visited Rikers Island with District Attorneys (Darcel) Clark, (Melinda) Katz, and (Eric) Gonzalez, and I was profoundly disturbed by what we saw," she said. "For years, Rikers has been plagued by dysfunction, neglect, and violence, and it's wide we've reached a breaking point. These conditions person led to an unprecedented and devastating fig of deaths, and enactment is desperately needed. I americium examining each of my office's ineligible options to instantly code this dire situation."

James says her bureau is examining ineligible options to code the arguable jail.

Separately, 4 members of Congress from New York demanded the merchandise of inmates and closure of Rikers aft different inmate was reported dormant astatine the facility.

Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jerry Nadler, Jamaal Bowman and Nydia Velázquez called conditions astatine the jailhouse "deplorable and thing abbreviated of a humanitarian crisis," successful a missive Tuesday to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The request followed the 11th decease reported astatine Rikers Island this year. The city's Department of Correction said an inmate died Sunday astatine the jailhouse aft reporting helium did not consciousness good and was taken to the infirmary.

His decease came connected the heels of some Hochul and de Blasio announcing plans to effort to amended conditions astatine Rikers Island, wherever longstanding troubles were exacerbated amid the pandemic.

The jailhouse has failed to supply inmates with basal services and extortion against the dispersed of COVID-19, the members said, and lawmakers connected a caller sojourn to the installation recovered conditions that were "life-threatening and horrific," the House members said successful their letter.

Earlier, de Blasio announced that 100 NYPD constabulary officers volition relieve correction officers presently moving successful the city's courts, who volition past beryllium utilized to code the staffing shortage.

The unit volition beryllium assigned to the Eric M. Taylor Center astatine the jailhouse to velocity up intake, which the politician said should instrumentality nary much than 24 hours.

Mayor de Blasio besides announced that the metropolis is suing the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, the national that represents correction officers, blaming it for the unsafe conditions astatine Rikers.
The city's is demanding that the national halt condoning immoderate wide absenteeism, enactment stoppages, oregon slowdowns.

The fig of correction officers taking absences without permission has gone up much than 215% successful the past 2 years.

Late past week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Less is More Act and announcing that 191 inmates being held connected non convulsive method parole violations volition beryllium released immediately.

The bill, which takes effect adjacent March, removes insignificant infractions made by parolees arsenic reasons to beryllium enactment backmost down bars, specified arsenic being precocious for an assignment oregon missing a curfew.
De Blasio said lone those inmates who don't "pose an contiguous threat" volition beryllium released, and successful immoderate cases, the metropolis volition person to spell backmost done courts to get them out.

New York City Department of Correction Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi praising the measure signing.

"Governor Hochul has my utmost acknowledgment for prioritizing the signing of this captious legislation, which marks a immense measurement guardant successful ending the epoch of wide incarceration, and its cousin, 'mass supervision,'" helium said. "Eliminating non-criminal, method parole violations is the decent, humane happening to bash and it volition lone summation nationalist information by disrupting the incarceration rhythm astatine a captious point, erstwhile radical are reintegrating into the community. I besides wholeheartedly convey the politician for utilizing her discretionary powerfulness to instrumentality facets of the measure that we tin payment from instantly without waiting until March."

Republicans successful Albany, however, were speedy to talk retired against it.

"Albany Democrats contiguous quadrupled down connected their pro-criminal, anti-victim, and anti-law enforcement policies by ordering the broad merchandise of hundreds of criminals with their "less is more" law," Senate GOP person Rob Ortt said. "Under One-Party Rule, convulsive transgression has been connected the emergence crossed the state. It began with Democrats' alleged "bail reform" successful 2019 - and it volition undoubtedly go worse with this caller instrumentality signed today. Aside from the information that New York volition erstwhile again favour criminals implicit victims, possibly the astir frightening constituent is that this instrumentality was really written in-part by a convicted killer. By signing this measure into law, Albany Democrats are saying "less is more" means little criminals down bars, and much victims arsenic a result."

The metropolis is hiring 600 caller officers this autumn but the national says they person mislaid that galore officers owed to resignations and retirements implicit the past fewer months.

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