Rikers Island

Paper Mail Gave me Hope on Rikers Island. Don’t Take it Away from Imprisoned People.

I was lucky enough to get a lot of mail while imprisoned on Rikers Island. Paper mail is one of the few things that keeps prisoners feeling human.

David Campbell Feb 08, 2023

State Senators Ask Gov. Hochul to Commute Sentence of Man Who Spent Over 800 Days in Rikers

Reginald Randolph is currently serving a two to four year sentence in state prison for stealing cold medicine

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Dec 04, 2021

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 in state prison.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 02, 2021

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.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 10, 2021

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.

Jonathan Ben-Menachem Dec 17, 2020

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.

Joshua Manson Nov 30, 2020

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.

Rebecca McCray Nov 24, 2020

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.

Jerry Iannelli Jul 22, 2020

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.

Brad Maurer, Seth J. Prins, Sandhya Kajeepeta Jul 09, 2020

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.

Jonathan Ben-Menachem Jun 29, 2020

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.’

Kim Kelly Apr 23, 2020

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.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 09, 2020

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.’

Kim Kelly Apr 08, 2020

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.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Mar 26, 2020

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?’”

Kim Kelly Mar 25, 2020

What It’s Like to Be Inside Rikers Island As Coronavirus Spreads

“Still no hand sanitizer, no bleach.”

Kim Kelly Mar 24, 2020

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.

Kim Kelly Mar 24, 2020

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.’

Lauren Gill Mar 19, 2020

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.

Bryce Covert Feb 26, 2020

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.

Ted Alcorn Feb 04, 2020

Uprooting U.S. Torture, Abroad And At Home

Testimony by an architect of the CIA torture program is a reminder of the problem of torture—and health professionals’ complicity—by domestic law enforcement

Vaidya Gullapalli Jan 22, 2020

When McKinsey aids ICE and Rikers, is it amoral or immoral?

What you’ll read today Spotlight: When McKinsey aids ICE and Rikers, is it amoral or immoral? Harris County DA candidate Audia Jones says she won’t prosecute sex work New Orleans jail staff supplied fentanyl that killed incarcerated man, lawsuit says Upstate New York county elects a reformist district attorney Dallas has been sending social workers to respond to 911 calls; the results are promising In […]

Sarah Lustbader Dec 12, 2019

When McKinsey Aids ICE And Rikers, Is It Amoral Or Immoral?

Spotlights like this one provide original commentary and analysis on pressing criminal justice issues of the day. You can read them each day in our newsletter, The Daily Appeal. McKinsey & Company is a prestigious management consulting firm known more for being excellent than for being good. Which is to say, only the most die-hard free […]

Sarah Lustbader Dec 12, 2019

Michael Bloomberg Speaks At Predominantly Black Church In Brooklyn, New York

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.

Aaron Morrison Nov 21, 2019

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.

Kelly Hayes Nov 04, 2019

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.

Jonathan Ben-Menachem Oct 15, 2019

‘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.

Olivia Heffernan Jul 30, 2019

Spotlight: De Blasio—The Circumstances of Layleen Polanco’s Death Shouldn’t Be So Perplexing

When New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was interviewed this week on a local news network, he was asked about Layleen Polanco, the 27-year-old transgender woman who was recently found dead in her cell at Rikers Island. The specific cause of her death is not known, but why was she held for two months […]

Sarah Lustbader Jun 13, 2019

Bill de Blasio seems perplexed about circumstances that led to a trans woman’s death at Rikers Island. He shouldn’t be.

What you’ll read today Spotlight: Bill de Blasio seems perplexed about circumstances that led to a trans woman’s death at Rikers Island. He shouldn’t be. How a D.C. Lawmaker is challenging the racist roots of prison voting restrictions Arrested for shoplifting and dead 2 days later New York lawmakers propose decriminalizing sex work Federal government withdraws […]

Sarah Lustbader Jun 13, 2019

Trans Woman’s Death in Rikers is Still a Mystery. But Why Was She There At All?

Though little is known about how Layleen Polanco died, advocates say her story highlights New York City’s flawed approach to criminal justice.

Raven Rakia Jun 12, 2019

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.

Jonathan Ben-Menachem May 15, 2019

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.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 03, 2019

The Appeal’s Favorite Stories of 2018

Our staff picks 12 stories worth reading (or rereading) before the new year.

Dec 27, 2018

Why Are Women Getting Stuck in Rikers?

New York City has reduced its jail population, but those who remain are staying longer.

Ethan Corey, Raven Rakia Dec 06, 2018

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.

George Joseph Nov 26, 2018

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.

Rubén Austria Nov 01, 2018

New York’s long-overdue ‘Raise the Age’ law will protect 16- and 17-year-olds from Rikers Island, but not upstate prison

What you’ll read today Spotlight: New York’s long-overdue ‘Raise the Age’ law will protect 16- and 17-year-olds from Rikers Island, but not upstate prison The Appeal Podcast Episode 19: Prison strikes are the front line against mass incarceration Georgia mayor plans to round up paroled sex offenders while kids trick or treat North Carolina county’s […]

Oct 26, 2018