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
Posts published in “Rikers Island Prison Complex”
Rikers Island Guards Charged With Misconduct in Teen’s Suicide Attempt
By Gotham Rex on July 25, 2022
The New York City correction officers and a captain stood by for nearly eight minutes as Nicholas Feliciano tried to hang himself in a jail cell. Source: New York Times
Rikers Officer Fired After Latest New York City Jail Death
By Gotham Rex on July 11, 2022
Elijah Muhammad, 31, had been held in the George R. Vierno Center for a month before he died in an incident that is now under review. Source: New York Times
3 N.Y.C. Detainees Die in Less Than a Week, Bringing Year’s Total to 9
By Gotham Rex on June 22, 2022
The deaths came just a week after a judge gave New York City until the fall to come up with a plan for fixing Rikers to avoid a federal takeover. Source: New York Times
N.Y.C. Jail Officials Avert a Federal Takeover of Rikers Island
By Gotham Rex on May 24, 2022
At a hearing, a federal judge granted the officials more time to address rampant violence and disorder inside the city jail system. Source: New York Times
Rikers Island Faces Pressure to End Death and Disorder Crisis
By Gotham Rex on May 24, 2022
Under orders to draw up a turnaround plan or face a federal takeover, the New York City jails system still has failed to provide detainees with basic care. Source: New York Times
Judge Faults Medical Care for Detainees in Latest Sign of Rikers Crisis
By Gotham Rex on May 17, 2022
The ruling came the same day that city officials delivered a plan for potentially avoiding a federal takeover of the troubled jail complex. Source: New York Times
A Covid Vaccine Mandate for New York Schools? Not This Year.
By Gotham Rex on May 10, 2022
A bill to add the Covid vaccine to a list of mandated shots for schoolchildren is a hot potato, its sponsor said. Source: New York Times
Rikers Officers Lagged in Helping 3 Detainees Who Died, Report Finds
By Gotham Rex on May 9, 2022
In each case, fellow inmates struggled to help when jail officers did not, according to the Board of Correction, which expressed “extreme” concern in its report. Source: New York Times
Man, 25, Is the Fourth Inmate to Die at Rikers This Year
By Gotham Rex on May 8, 2022
Dashawn Carter was found hanging in his cell in an apparent suicide during a time of deepening crisis for the jail. Source: New York Times
Louis Molina’s In Charge of Fixing Rikers Island. His Plan Is Due in 11 Days.
By Gotham Rex on May 7, 2022
Louis A. Molina, the Department of Correction commissioner since only January, says he has a solution to a problem that has defied his predecessors. Source: New York Times
Rikers Chaos Could Lead to Federal Court Control, U.S. Attorney Says
By Gotham Rex on April 19, 2022
Damian Williams wrote that his office might have no choice but to seek “aggressive relief” for the serious problems at the jail. Source: New York Times
Rikers Still ‘Unstable and Unsafe’ Under New Jails Chief, Watchdog Says
By Gotham Rex on March 17, 2022
A federal monitor overseeing reforms at the troubled New York City jail complex said staffing problems and high rates of violence persist. Source: New York Times
50 Years Ago, James Brown Took an Unlikely Stage: Rikers Island
By Gotham Rex on March 15, 2022
The story of how the Godfather of Soul ended up performing at the New York jail involves a dogged Board of Correction employee who knitted her way to the musician’s attention. Source: New York Times
Unreported Rikers Island Beatings: ‘Disturbing and Unacceptable’
By Gotham Rex on March 8, 2022
Louis Molina, the correction commissioner, responded to a recent New York Times report that found serious injuries to at least two detainees were not reported. Source: New York Times