AS NYC DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION RETURNS TO COURT IN RIKERS CASE, FORMERLY INCARCERATED LEADERS AND ALLIES DEMAND ACTION TO ADDRESS THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS AT RIKERS ISLAND
City officials appeared again in federal court today, following the federal monitor's submission of a status report on DOC's Action Plan to address their ongoing non-compliance with the Nunez consent decree, and the ensuing crisis on Rikers. The hearing comes as city jails are experiencing the highest rate of in custody deaths since 2013. In response, members of the Campaign to Close Rikers issued the following statements:
Darren Mack, Co-Director of Freedom Agenda said, “The most recent report from the Nunez federal monitor said Rikers is still ’dangerously unsafe’ and urged the city and the courts to ‘maximize the use of jail diversion options.’ If the mayor truly wants to prevent a federal receivership, he should stop criticizing successful policies like bail reform and take immediate action to reduce the jail population and expedite the closure of Rikers, including by making deep investments in treatment and housing.”
“No matter what the judge decides, the most important thing to save lives right now is to reduce the number of people in DOC custody. One way to do that is to provide alternatives to incarceration to people with mental health treatment needs who could be better served in the community. Almost half the jail population requires mental health treatment, and about 1000 have been diagnosed with serious mental health illnesses. The City should prioritize releasing people who can receive services and support in the community while they are awaiting trial,” said Jennifer J. Parish, director of criminal justice advocacy at the Urban Justice Center Mental Health Project.
Tracie Gardner, Senior Vice President of Policy at the Legal Action Center said, "The bottom line is that, regardless of the decision regarding the receivership, Rikers cannot be fixed - it must be closed. Decarceration and investing in community-based supports like accessible healthcare, including evidence-based addiction and mental health treatment, affordable housing, and employment services are what we should be focused on, not continuing foolishly to try and treat the gangrene-infected limb that is Rikers as it keeps rotting and lives are lost."
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