A Homeless Man Has Spent 800 Days At Rikers After Stealing Cold Medicine. Now His Prison Sentence May Be Beginning.
Blind in one eye and at risk of losing vision in the other, 58-year-old Reginald Randolph is now on the verge of being sent to state prison to serve out a maximum of four years.
New York City Has People on Parole In Jails At Rates Not Seen Since The Early Pandemic
Despite calls to reduce incarcerated populations, the number of people being detained for minor parole violations has been rising.
Don’t Delay on Closing Rikers
The city says COVID-19 budget constraints will set back its plans to close the jail but people incarcerated there are suffering from the disease right now.
America’s Biggest City Was Hit Hard By COVID-19. Its Jails Are Filling Up Again
New York City’s jail population is close to reaching pre-pandemic levels. Advocates say dishonest fearmongering about bail reform—and the politicians who capitulated to it—have created a very real safety crisis.
Andrew Cuomo Promised Criminal Justice Reforms, But New York Is Still Waiting
The governor has rolled back bail reform, not released enough prisoners during the pandemic, and failed to rein in police abuses, advocates and prisoners say.
New York City’s Public Housing Rules Could Force Many Released Prisoners Into Homelessness
As thousands of people are freed from local jails, a group of nonprofits and activist organizations says the city's housing authority must revamp its policies that banish the formerly incarcerated.
There Must Be Mass Releases From NYC Jails Immediately – It’s The Only Way To Protect Public Health
New data obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request paint a dire picture of New York City COVID-19 testing in its jails.
Budget Cuts May Keep Rikers Open Past 2027 Deadline
Reductions in budgets related to the novel coronavirus have slowed New York City’s plan to close Rikers by building new jails, and it’s becoming increasingly possible that the city will not meet its January 2027 deadline.
A Man With Coronavirus Symptoms At Rikers Island Describes His Ordeal
‘I would go to the hospital very often and they wouldn’t do anything for me.’
Parole Violations Nearly Sentenced These People To COVID-19
Twenty-eight people were to attend weeks-long drug treatment programs after violating parole. The COVID-19 pandemic nearly trapped them in jail indefinitely.
At the Center of the Coronavirus Pandemic, People Inside NYC Jails Describe Fear, Confusion and a Lack of Supplies
'They're not supplying us with masks, they’re not supplying us gloves, they're not supplying us with decent cleaning supplies.'
New York City Jails Have an Alarmingly High Infection Rate, According to an Analysis by the Legal Aid Society
“Based on this analysis, New York City jails have become the epicenter of COVID-19,” a Legal Aid attorney said.
An Update On What’s Happening Inside Rikers Island as Coronavirus Spreads
“The doctors said they were going to come and do screenings every day, but for the past two days, they’ve just come into the dorm and stood by the front door and yelled, ‘Does anybody have any symptoms?’”
What It’s Like to Be Inside Rikers Island As Coronavirus Spreads
“Still no hand sanitizer, no bleach.”
Coronavirus Has Come to Rikers, and the People Inside Are Fighting to Survive
The island’s Communicable Disease Unit is already overflowing with quarantined people.
Rikers Island Physician Voices Coronavirus Fears As Cuomo Meets With Officials Looking To Scuttle Bail Reforms
Late Wednesday, the chief physician at the Rikers jail complex said on Twitter that judges and prosecutors must not leave New York City's jailed population ‘in harm’s way.’
Protesters Rally in Albany to Oppose Bail Reform Rollback
Advocates, formerly incarcerated people, and lawmakers warned against overhauling the New York law before it has a chance to prove itself.
As Bail Reform Takes Hold Across New York State, a Rural County Wrestles With The Future Of Its Aging Jail
The debate around bail reform focused predominantly on New York City's Rikers Island, but the bigger impact may be upstate, where almost two-thirds of the state’s jail capacity is located.
Michael Bloomberg Should Apologize For More Than Stop-and-Frisk, Critics Say
The billionaire and former New York City mayor defended the NYPD’s surveillance of Muslim Americans and mandatory minimum prison sentences for gun possession, among other policies.
It’s Time to Fight the Democratic Mayors Who Are Champions of the Carceral State
The mayors of New York, Chicago, and San Francisco wrap themselves in the language of progressivism, but when it comes to the criminal legal system they’re Trumpian.
Say No to New Jails in New York City
The mayor claims that building new jails is the only safe way to close Rikers Island jail complex, but the City Council shouldn’t fall for this Faustian bargain.
‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’
Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later.
Incarceration Is Always a Policy Failure
Instead of building ‘humane jails’ to replace Rikers Island, let’s push the NYPD to cut down on arrests.
Overdose In An Arizona Prison? Get Ready To Pay Up.
‘Worst policy imaginable’ punishes, rather than treats, patients who earn less than a dollar an hour, advocates say.
The Appeal’s Favorite Stories of 2018
Our staff picks 12 stories worth reading (or rereading) before the new year.
Why Are Women Getting Stuck in Rikers?
New York City has reduced its jail population, but those who remain are staying longer.
Despite New Rules, NYC Is Still Jailing People Long After They Post Bail
A new Bronx Freedom Fund report documents these extended pretrial lockups, which threaten people’s jobs and destabilize families.
Moving Teens Off Rikers Island Was a Good First Step. Now Comes the Hard Part.
The rocky implementation of New York’s Raise the Age law shows that young people in detention need love, not force.
Queens Prosecutor: Kalief Browder’s Suicide Wasn’t About Rikers
City Council Member Rory Lancman, who was debating Assistant District Attorney James Quinn over the future of Rikers Island, blasted Quinn's comments on Browder, who spent three years incarcerated without a trial.
How Activists Convinced New York City To Stop Profiting Off Prisoners’ Phone Calls
News of the victory is spreading rapidly to other cities.
EXCLUSIVE: Documents Reveal Bronx DA’s Office Is Still Withholding Key Evidence In Prosecution of Bronx Teen
Pedro Hernandez’s case has inspired calls for reform, but he’s still being targeted for an alleged cell phone theft.
Locked up for three decades without a trial
A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years.
The Appeal Podcast Episode 4: How Prison Reform Was Co-Opted to Sell More Prisons
With journalists Raven Rakia and Ashoka Jegroo.
How the Push to Close Rikers Went From No Jails To New Jails
Activists say a once-radical campaign has been co-opted.