AS NYC DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION RETURNS TO COURT IN RIKERS CASE, FORMERLY INCARCERATED LEADERS AND ALLIES DEMAND ACTION TO DECARCERATE AND CLOSE RIKERS ISLAND

City officials will appear again in federal court today to address their ongoing non-compliance with the Nunez consent decree. In response to a suggestion by the federal monitor that the City be held in contempt of court, Judge Swain has indicated that she will set a schedule for the plaintiffs to argue for a receiver to be appointed. Both the Legal Aid Society and the US Department of Justice have indicated that they intend to file for receivership. In response, members of the Campaign to Close Rikers issued the following statements.

Darren Mack, Co-Director of Freedom Agenda said, “The federal monitor has repeatedly said that the imminent risk of harm to everyone detained at RIkers makes it necessary and urgent to use every possible tool to reduce the population.  But Mayor Adams has been doing the exact opposite, with deadly results. Whether or not the courts eventually appoint a receiver to manage Rikers, we know what’s needed right now - and that’s rapid decarceration. And we know what’s needed ultimately - shutting the whole place down.”

“If the Mayor and DOC Commissioner cannot operate the city jail system safely, no one should be condemned to Department of Correction custody. It is unconscionable for criminal court judges to continue to send people to NYC jails where they are in imminent risk of harm and even death. Half of the jail population requires mental health treatment, and more than 1000 incarcerated people have been diagnosed with serious mental health concerns. Yet, they are confined in a system that cannot keep them safe, and certainly cannot provide the quality mental health care they need. Decarceration is the immediate answer to this humanitarian crisis. The Mayor, DOC Commissioner, and judges must act now. Closing Rikers Island should be a top priority for all New Yorkers,”  said Jennifer J. Parish, director of criminal justice advocacy at the Urban Justice Center Mental Health Project.

“The reality is that Rikers must be shuttered once and for all. We must do everything possible to stop the humanitarian crisis that has been unfolding at Rikers for decades, and ensure that we, as a city, are investing in every and all alternatives that provide people with holistic care and wrap-around services that can keep them from criminal legal involvement. Any move toward receivership must be in service of the timely and legally mandated closure of Rikers Island,” said Megan French-Marcelin, Senior Director of NYS Policy at the Legal Action Center.

“Rikers cannot be fixed - it must be closed. The monitor’s reports simply add evidence to what we already know: Rikers is not safe for anyone. Immediate action to reduce the Rikers populations must be taken, including robust use of alternatives to incarceration. Individuals with mental health conditions, who represent over 50% of those currently incarcerated, must be connected to appropriate care in the community, rather than left without appropriate support in an environment that actively harms mental wellbeing. The Mayor should commit to rapid decarceration now and aggressive actions to close Rikers entirely by 2027,” said Jonathan McLean, President & CEO of CASES.

“When will our society value all human lives? How many more families must suffer through the loss of their loved ones on Rikers? This City voted to close Rikers Island - a place of torture, trauma, and death. We all must stand together and hold government accountable. The steps laid out in the plan to close Rikers must be followed. We need to decarcerate as many people as quickly as possible and invest in community solutions so people have the resources they need to heal. There are many forms of alternative programming provided by valued nonprofit organizations, such as Exodus. Investing in solutions that work is smart justice,” said Kandra Clark, VP of Policy & Strategy with Exodus Transitional Community. 

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