"Rikers is really bad right now. There’s no COs, they’re not feeding people, there’s no water, no showers, no phone calls. There’s people there that haven’t took showers in two weeks or longer. You barely eat; they don't care. There were people in cells having seizures, and they just left them there.
I was in a cell with about 30 other people. You could be sleeping, and they'd spray mace or come banging on the cells for no reason, just to wake you up. You’ve got COs talking about how they own us and can do whatever they want to us."-"Cameron, 21 years old, released September 9, 2022
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"How is it that in a 24-hour secure facility, OK, it was complete disregard for his mental illness, as well as medical care?" - Family of Elijah Muhammad
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“...Rather than working to alleviate crowding within Rikers and other city jails, court data shows judges are detaining an increasing number of people before their trials, and an analysis by Gothamist/WNYC and New York Focus reveals some judges play an outsized role in driving this trend.” - The Gothamist, 2022
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RIKERS CONDITIONS ARE UNINHABITABLE, BUT THE JAILS KEEP GETTING MORE MONEY TO FAIL.
THE CITY WANTS TO BUILD NEW JAILS, WHEN IT SHOULD BE CLOSING THE ONES THAT EXIST.
THE PEOPLE WHO FOUGHT TO BUILD NEW JAILS SHOULD BE EMBARASSED ABOUT THEIR FAILURE.
