Rikers Island

New York City officials have confirmed another death of a detainee in the city’s jail system as the crisis at Rikers Island enters a new week. Victor Mercado appears to be the 13th in custody death at Rikers since the start of the year. The Department of Correction confirmed the 64-year-old man died Friday afternoon at Elmhurst Hospital. A...

Dozens of women at Rikers Island jail signed a petition opposing the recent decision to temporarily move them to state facilities, NBC New York has learned, claiming that the move is “silencing us, hiding us, abusing your power.”
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/women-at-rikers-sign-petition-against-moving-them-to-state-facilities/3326744/

Nearly all female and transgender inmates at NYC’s Rikers Island jail complex will be temporarily transferred to state lockups, a move touted as a way to relieve strain on the city’s failing jails but one that advocates slammed as a “rushed”

“They didn’t know what to do with us,” says Jermaine Archer, who caught COVID while incarcerated at Rikers Island. The New York City jail holds people pretrial and has faced criticism for deaths and crowded conditions. NBC New York’s Kay Angrum was live outside after 2 counter-protesting groups spoke on behalf of corrections workers and the incarcerated.

The NYC correction commissioner appointed a former top NYPD chief to advise him on operational changes at Rikers Island, according to a department memo obtained by NBC New York.

The NYC correction commissioner appointed a former top NYPD chief to advise him on operational changes at Rikers Island, according to a department memo obtained by NBC New York.

Lawmakers are joining in on the chorus calling for Rikers Island to be shut down. Erica Byfield reports.

Hochul said more virtual appearances — instead of requiring inmates be physically transferred — would make the legal process go faster, adding that corrections officers would be able to focus more on supervision and safety without having to spend as much time transporting detainees

Governor Kathy Hochul created a new initiative in an attempt to improve conditions at Rikers Correctional Center. Adam Kuperstein reports.

Mayor Bill de Blasio toured Rikers Island amid an outcry over deteriorating conditions at the sprawling jail complex. Jessica Cunnington reports.

New York City faced mounting pressure Friday to solve its spiraling jail crisis, with members of Congress calling for a federal civil rights investigation and a court-appointed monitor blasting the city for a failure of leadership amid staggering violence, self-harm and the deaths this year of at least 12 inmates. U.S. District Judge Laura Swain, overseeing a jail consent decree,…

A federal monitor has made recommendations to improve conditions at Rikers Island. NBC New York’s Myles Miller reports.

Four Democratic congressional members from New York called conditions at the jail “deplorable and nothing short of a humanitarian crisis” — and that was before the latest death, the 12th so far this year at the facility.

A second person in three days has died in custody at New York City’s troubled Rikers Island jail complex, marking the 12th such death so far this year amid mounting calls from congressional representatives and advocates to close the facility for good. NBC New York’s Myles Miller reports.

Four Democratic congressional members from New York called conditions at the jail “deplorable and nothing short of a humanitarian crisis” — and that was before the latest death, the 12th so far this year at the facility.

Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jerry Nadler, Jamaal Bowman and Nydia Velázquez called conditions at the jail “deplorable and nothing short of a humanitarian crisis,” in a letter Tuesday to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Another person in custody at Rikers Island has died, according to the New York City Departments of Correction. The inmate has not been identified and their cause of death is under investigation by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The DOC said the person was “not feeling well” on Sunday night and he was reported to the jail’s...

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law Friday aimed to transform the state’s parole system amid rising concerns about the safety of inmates and correction officers in the walls of New York City’s Rikers Island. Andrew Siff reports.

An inmate at Rikers Island briefly stole a Department of Correction bus Thursday night while guards stepped away, and promptly crashed it in to a wall, sources told NBC New York.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law Friday aimed to transform the state’s parole system amid rising concerns about the safety of inmates and correction officers in the walls of New York City’s Rikers Island. The Less is More Act modifies the standard of evidence and certain other procedures when determining whether to revoke the community...