[CFW]

We all here pretty much agree that criminals who have committed crimes to the point they are at Rikers probably deserve to have the freedoms restricted and to be kept away from society in general. Given the state of Rikers, the fifty cent solution (now a dollar due to inflation) would be more humane.

However, there is a big difference between imprisoning criminals and treating them in an inhumane manner. Having prisoners defecate in plastic bags without a method to immediately dispose of the waste spreads disease, locking them in showers, in roach infected cells, allowing gang members to control the prisoners, withholding medicines and medical treatment, and so many other things is only going to cause more problems without solving any. Prison is not supposed to mean physical and mental torture. Plus, at these facilities there are probably just as many criminals on one side of the bars as there are on the other.

There has to be a better way to hold these people in prison. Regular cleaning and sanitization of the cell areas should be a minimum requirement.

[T.B. Yoits]

One step closer to taking over Rikers Island in order to expand LaGuardia airport.

From 2017:
https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Rikers-Island-studied-for-LaGuardia-runway-11061683.php

[FoxInSocks]

Rikers has not improved since New York City agreed to a court-enforced reform plan in 2015

They just need a little bit more time.

[whitney69]

“Plus, at these facilities there are probably just as many criminals on one side of the bars as there are on the other.”

This may ba a major part of the problem. Acting or expecting humane treatment is part of the incarceration. And it doesn’tr neccessarily mean one sinde or the other is not providing it. But a lot of it is money problems. And it also doubles as the site of one of the world’s largest correctional institutions and “mental institutions.”

The complex in 2015 had a budget of $860 million a year, a staff of 9,000 civilian officers and 1,500 other civilians managing 100,000 admissions per year and an average daily population of 10,000 inmates. The majority (85%) of detainees are pretrial defendants, either held on bail or remanded in custody. The rest of the population have been convicted and are serving short sentences. In a 2021 analysis by the New York City Comptroller, it costs the city approximately $556,539 to detain one person for one year at Rikers Island.

Bu they are beating a dead horse here as in October 2019, the New York City Council voted to close down the facility by 2026. So why make a big thing out of something that has been in this position for many years. Where were the people complaining then. Illegal strip searches, beatings, sexual assaults, and drug movement have been issues there since well before 2000. It wasn’t until they wanted to add beds to the facility in 2016 that any action was taken.

wy69

[Brilliant]

Put her in charge.

[Scrambler Bob]

What might this judge think about the DC Gulag?

[Does so]

Distinction should be made between “Prison” and “Jail”.

“Jail” is a local incarceration. (City/County).

“Prison” is a Federal vacation.

My college roommate became a real estate lawyer, but ran foul of Federal law. Today, he refers to his 18 month imprisonment as his “days at camp”.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

We all here pretty much agree that criminals who have committed crimes to the point they are at Rikers probably deserve to have the freedoms restricted and to be kept away from society in general.

Well, no.

The majority of the people there are not convicted criminals but pre-trial defendants.

Rikers is often used as a threat to get someone to confess or take a deal because of how violent the place is. And while the guilty may confess and that is good, so do the innocent who are just terrified by the thought of being locked up with violent inmates and indifferent guards and that is very bad.