1.) How are you connected to this movement?  

My connection to close Rikers Island is actually the fact that I was a citizen of Rikers Island. My connection is to show that, even from the time that I was in there to the time now, people are still losing their lives within the system. I also experienced some direct losses of people that I lost to Rikers Island.  

So I have a vested interest not just on a personal level, but also on a professional level to show that the system is not working, and that it is not doing what it was designed to do, to create rehabilitation to help build society. I have a very vested interest in having people become more aware of the sacrifices that people are experiencing in order to close Rikers. I have to change things within the timeframe of my life, to show that I also strive to make a difference in my time. 

2.) Why should Rikers close?  

Rikers should close because it has proven itself to be a failed system. Rikers should close in order to save lives, in order for us to build healthier and better systems. When you say incarceration, a healthy system for incarceration, I've never really seen one. I've been in many prisons - city and state prisons - and I've never seen a healthy jail.  

As far as Rikers Island, it just looks like a holding pen. When you go to Rikers Island, you're basically in fight for your life. There's no change, people are not elevating and growing as a result of going through the experience. And those that do come back from Rikers Island, come back in our communities.  

We do know that there are better components that we can use instead of just having incarceration, we have systems that can actually prevent incarceration. So we don't have system doesn't solve the case you've got to keep coming back in here. 

3.) What is your vision for a more just and equitable post-Rikers New York City?  

To actually learn from that and have systems in place that actually help our communities, to have programs in place that prevent their children from going to prison. Organizations that actually understand how to deviate yourself from going through the system. 

We have to believe in change, that people can make mistakes and still come out on top and bring goodness into the world. Rikers Island is not about bringing good into the world, it's not about spreading hope or helping people to change their lives.