#Rikers Island

[reasonsforhope]

"The New York City Council voted to ban most uses of solitary confinement in city jails Wednesday [December 20, 2023], passing the measure with enough votes to override a veto from Mayor Eric Adams.

The measure would ban the use of solitary confinement beyond four hours and during certain emergencies. That four hour period would be for "de-escalation" in situations where a detainee has caused someone else physical harm or risks doing so. The resolution would also require the city's jails to allow every person detained to spend at least 14 hours outside of their cells each day.

The bill, which had 38 co-sponsors, was passed 39 to 7. It will now go to the mayor, who can sign the bill or veto it within 30 days. If Mayor Adams vetoes the bill, it will get sent back to the council, which can override the veto with a vote from two-thirds of the members. The 39 votes for the bill today make up 76% of the 51-member council. At a press conference ahead of the vote today [December 20, 2023], Council speaker Adrienne Adams indicated the council would seek [a veto] override if necessary.

For his part, Mayor Adams has signaled he is indeed considering vetoing the bill...

The United Nations has said solitary confinement can amount to torture, and multiple studies suggest its use can have serious consequences on a person's physical and mental health, including an increased risk of PTSD, dying by suicide, and having high blood pressure.

One 2019 study found people who had spent time in solitary confinement in prison were more likely to die in the first year after their release than people who had not spent time in solitary confinement. They were especially likely to die from suicide, homicide and opioid overdose.

Black and Hispanic men have been found to be overrepresented among those placed in solitary confinement – as have gay, lesbian and bisexual people.

The resolution in New York comes amid scrutiny over deaths in the jail complex on Rikers Island. Last month, the federal government joined efforts to wrest control of the facility from the mayor, and give it to an outside authority.

In August 2021, 25-year-old Brandon Rodriguez died while in solitary confinement at Rikers. He had been in pre-trial detention at the jail for less than a week. His mother, Tamara Carter, says his death was ruled a suicide and that he was in a mental health crisis at the time of his confinement.

"I know for Brandon, he should have been put in the infirmary. He should have been seeing a psychiatrist. He should have been being watched," she said.

She says the passage of the bill feels like a form of justice for her.

"Brandon wasn't nothing. He was my son. He was an uncle. A brother. A grandson. And he's very, very missed," she told NPR. "I couldn't save my son. But if I joined this fight, maybe I could save somebody else's son." ...

New York City is not the first U.S. city to limit the use of solitary confinement in its jails, though it is the largest. In 2021, voters in Pennsylvania's Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, passed a measure to restrict solitary confinement except in cases of lockdowns and emergencies. The sheriff in Illinois' Cook County, which includes Chicago, has said the Cook County jail – one of the country's largest – has also stopped using solitary confinement...

Naila Awan, the interim co-director of policy at the New York Civil Liberties Union, says that New York making this change could have larger influence across the country.

"As folks look at what New York has done, other larger jails that are not quite the size of Rikers will be able to say, 'If New York City is able to do this, then we too can implement similar programs here, that it's within our capacity and capabilities," Awan says. "And to the extent that we are able to get this implemented and folks see the success, I think we could see a real shift in the way that individuals are treated behind bars.""

-via NPR, December 20, 2023

[twixnmix]

Jada Pinkett visiting Tupac Shakur at Rikers Island in the Bronx, 1995.

Tupac told MTV in 1995:

"Jada is my heart. She will be my friend for my whole life. We'll be old together. Jada can ask me to do anything and she can have it. She can have my heart, my liver, my lungs, my kidneys, my blood marrow, all of that."

Source: Tupac Resurrection, 1971-1996 (2003)

[makingdonalddrumpfagain]

[coochiequeens]

Another reason not to have sons.

Left Side: Andre Eugene [L] and his mother Donna Hyman [R]. Right Side: A photo of Gigi the poodle on Hyman's Facebook.

By Reduxx Team January 27, 2024

A trans-identified male is in custody following the horrific stabbing death of both his mother and her beloved dog. Andre Eugene, who reportedly identifies as a “woman,” is facing charges of murder in the second degree and aggravated cruelty to animals.

Eugene’s mother, Donna Marie Hyman, was found dead in her Brooklyn apartment on January 19 after police were called by Hyman’s sister. The woman says she had received a call from Hyman, but when she answered could only hear blood-curdling screams.

Content warning: descriptions of how he killed his mother and her mini poodle

Hyman was found “lying lifeless on the floor” and had been stabbed over 50 times in the head and chest. The corpse of Hyman’s mini poodle, Gigi, was found outside of the building, having apparently been stabbed and thrown from the 11th floor.

According to court records, police officers found Eugene “naked and covered in blood” in the building’s lobby. Despite the obvious indications of foul play, Eugene reportedly attempted to claim that Hyman had died by suicide and that Gigi had fallen from the balcony by accident.

Eugene was later treated for stab wounds that were suspected to be self-inflicted, as well as a dog bite.

Eugene worked as a paraprofessional with kindergarten-aged students at the Henry D. Woodworth School in Brooklyn. At the time of this writing, his name still appears on the staff roster for the school.

From the staff list at Henry D. Woodworth.

Following Eugene’s arrest, there were some discrepancies in the way in which the crime was reported. While most media outlets correctly referred to Eugene as Hyman’s son, information was later released by police which indicated that Eugene identified as a transgender “woman.”

While it is unclear when Eugene began to transition, multiple early photos of him and his mother posted to her Facebook show him with a masculine appearance. Comments under photos featuring Eugene all suggest he was well-liked by friends and family.

Eugene with family members. Source: Donna Hyman / FACEBOOK.

Though Eugene’s gender identity is not mentioned anywhere on Hyman’s Facebook where she often shared photos of her family and friends, two photos of Gigi, her poodle, were posted that suggest Hyman was in favor of LGBT causes. In one, Gigi is seen with a Gay Pride Month banner. In another, the dog is centered in an Human Rights Campaign photo frame that says “Fighting For Transgender Justice.”

Eugene is currently being held at the Eric M. Tyler Center on Rikers Island, a facility that houses male adults and adolescents. His intake information lists his sex as “male.”

There have been multiple incidents involving trans-identified males murdering their parent or parents in recent years.

In December of 2022, Nikki Secondino, a trans-identified male Instagram influencer, fatally stabbed his father and severely injured his sister while on a violent rampage over a laptop. Secondino gave a chilling confession to police after being arrested, revealing that he had first bludgeoned his father’s head with a hammer and then stabbed him with a knife. He then stabbed his sister when she attempted to intervene.

Months later, a trans-identified male in Virginia Beach was arrested and charged with the murder of his father. As previously reported by Reduxx, Michael Aaron Horwitz, 34, stabbed Dr. Abbey Horwitz to death at his home for reasons which are still unclear. Horwitz is being held at the Virginia Beach Jail awaiting trial.

here's an article written just over a year ago

"The Femicide Census, co-founded by Clarrie O’Callaghan and Karen Ingala Smith, records the death of every woman killed by a man in England and Wales. The number of women killed by sons has shown a steady and alarming rise since 2016, after decades of remaining stable. The number of grandmothers killed by grandsons has also risen. While younger women are more at risk of being killed by a partner or ex-partner, it is women in their 60s and older who are risk from their older sons and grandsons."

[myfloatingrock]

Foxy Brown at her release from Rikers Island 2008

[blackwomenrule]

[follow-up-news]

Inmates at New York City’s Rikers Island are suing the city claiming they were trapped in their cells during a jailhouse fire that injured 20 people last year. The lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Manhattan said the 15 men were among those kept locked in their rooms by corrections officers as a fire burned through a housing unit for people with acute medical conditions requiring infirmary care or Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant housing. It claims the men “choked on toxic black smoke, some vomiting, some losing consciousness, all gasping for air” while corrections department staffers fled to safety. “The idea that detainees who have not been convicted of any crime can be locked inside of a burning building and left to suffer and die is to most Americans, a barbaric notion reserved for movies and television shows depicting the cruelties and brutality of the past,” the lawsuit reads. Spokespeople for the city corrections department and health and hospitals department declined to comment, referring instead to the city’s law department, which said it is reviewing the suit and will respond in the litigation.

[slowtovvn]

Um what the Fuck

[f-yeahimpalass]

[antiwaradvocates]

In Democratically controlled NY, right now, the Dem. Governor is holding the state budget hostage to dramatically change the state's bail laws to lock up thousands of Black & brown people. Needlessly. Lawmakers are getting ready to give judges the most power they've had in history to detain innocent people pretrial. NY State Democrats are ignoring facts about bail reform & choosing to listen to a NYC Mayor, who has expanded the torture of solitary confinement on Rikers, gutted public schools/libraries to pay billions more for police, and ended Medicare for retirees.

Bail reform has allowed hundreds of thousands of people to fight their charges while keeping jobs & housing, supporting their loved ones, & avoiding the pressure that all too often pushes people to plead guilty. All while saving hundreds of millions & reducing rearrest rates.

[virovizion]

Watch "LESSONS Learned in PRISON, How I APPLY Them in Da REAL WORLD..." on YouTube

[trendynewsnow]

Tragic Case of Ramon Rivera: From Homelessness to Violent Rampage

Tragic Turn of Events: The Case of Ramon Rivera On November 11, a 51-year-old homeless man named Ramon Rivera, who faced charges for stealing a $1,500 acrylic bowl from a luxury furniture store in Manhattan, had a scheduled court-ordered appointment with his case manager. Unfortunately, he failed to attend, as reported by two reliable sources. A week later, Mr. Rivera’s situation escalated…

[aresgodofwar23]

(Nuetronverse )

[halfwayhome47]

Rikers Island

There are continuous reports of fatality and abuse etc. at Rikers Island, we all know that there is more unreported. Where’s there’s smoke there is fire! The solution is to close the prison and create new ones, since that is the solution then every prison would need to be closed.

The unfortunate reality is that people are buying into the “solution.” What do you think is the solution?

[xtruss]

NYC Jails Flagrantly Deny Young People’s Legal Right To Education

New Court Filings Say That the City is Violating an Eight-Year-Old Court Order Mandating Access to Education for People Under 22.

— Akela Lacy | April 4, 2024

A View of the New York City Jails on Rikers Island, seen from a departing flight from LaGuardia Airport on Dec. 10, 2022, in Queens, N.Y. Photo: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

Last June, New York City Mayor Eric Adams Spoke to Graduates at Rikers Island who received their high-school-equivalence diplomas while serving in jail.

“When you get your diplomas today,” Adams told the graduates, “I want you to stand up, lean back, be firm and strong and say, ‘I got this. When does the hard part start? I’m finished with the hard part. Now I’m moving forward to my destiny on what I want to accomplish.’”

The group represented the successful fruits of a law that guarantees access to education to people incarcerated in city jails. The success stories, however, are only part of the picture.

Other young people incarcerated in New York jails said in court filings that they’ve been repeatedly denied their legal right to education and that the city has failed to comply with a 2016 court order requiring education access for people between 18 and 21 held in in Department of Correction custody. In filings Wednesday, the plaintiffs in a decadeslong class-action suit against the city called for the appointment of a new court monitor to oversee implementation of the order.

“Not Only Is This A Legal Failing, But It’s A Moral Failing.”

“Not only is this a legal failing, but it’s a moral failing,” said Lauren Stephens-Davidowitz, a staff attorney with the Prisoners’ Rights Project at the Legal Aid Society, a public defense organization, which made the Wednesday filings. “You have these young people who are begging to get their high school education while they’re incarcerated, and are just trying so hard, and are being denied it.”

The original 1996 suit claimed that the city Department of Correction and the Department of Education failed to provide education to young people entitled to public schooling. Plaintiffs are now alleging that the city has failed to comply with a 2016 federal court order requiring that incarcerated young people be given access to a minimum of three hours of educational services each day. The order also required provision of special education services to people who needed them.

Class members include 29 people in New York City custody between the ages of 18 and 21 who don’t currently have a high school diploma. Declarations from class members provided to The Intercept document alleged violations of the 2016 court order, including claims that they’ve been told they can only receive education if they’re housed in certain programmatic facilities. (The Department of Education referred questions to the Department of Correction. The mayor’s office did not provide a comment.)

By keeping people from accessing legally required educational services, the Department of Correction is working against its professed goal of rehabilitation, said Stefen Short, a supervising attorney with the Prisoner’s Rights Project.

“It’s proven that when an individual attains their high school diploma or the equivalent in custody, their prospects for success improve on the outside,” Short said. “DOC is essentially letting folks sit idle rather than provide them with access to educational services to which they have a right. That renders everyone in the jail setting less safe. It’s a strange state of affairs. It doesn’t serve anyone’s interests.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Correction referred questions about the legal filing to the city’s Law Department, which represents the mayor and city agencies, and has not responded.

“The department has just received additional funding for programming for people in custody,” said the Correction spokesperson, Annais Morales, said, adding that the funds would allow for programs including general education diploma preparation and “tutoring for all people in custody.”

Last Chance For A Diploma

The court appointed a monitor in 2016 to oversee the city’s implementation of the order. In his third report in 2018, as his two-year term was winding down, the monitor found that the order was working for younger detainees, who were being phased out of the adult criminal system under a 2018 city law and were no longer part of the class, but not for people over the age of 18.

“While the education program at Rikers has shown marked improvements during the past two years, access to education for inmates age 18 to 21 is a persistent problem,” the report said.

Only people incarcerated in special Department of Correction program housing have access to education services. Detainees don’t have a choice in where they’re housed, and people in non-program housing have said they’ve requested access to education and been denied.

At a November meeting of the city’s Board of Correction, a nine-member oversight body, Correction Department Deputy Commissioner Francis Torres said the department provided educational services at only two facilities: the Robert N. Davoren Complex and the Rose M. Singer Center. “For this year, we have targeted our educational efforts, meaning granting access to educational services at RNDC and Rose M. Singer,” Torres said.

One incarcerated person, who needs special education services and submitted a declaration as part of the new filing Wednesday, said he had lost nearly a year of progress toward his diploma during the Covid-19 pandemic and was still being denied access to education.

“I need my special education services in order to make educational progress,” the incarcerated man said. “I am not getting the three hours of education per day that I am entitled to.”

The man, who said he was interested in vocational training in carpentry, computers, or cybersecurity, added, “I want to seize every opportunity I can to prepare for a better future.”

An incarcerated 19-year-old who received special education services prior to being in jail custody said Department of Correction staff told him he had to wait to receive education services until he was transferred to a different complex. When he got there, he said staff told him he couldn’t enroll in education services because he wasn’t in a school dorm.

“I was worried that I would not be safe in another housing area,” he said. “I did not think it was fair that I had to choose between school and safety.”

When an incarcerated person turns 22, they age out of the right to get education while in jail. “This is the last chance they have to get a high school education,” said Stephens-Davidowitz, the Legal Aid attorney. “This is a critical juncture in their lives. They have a right to do it, and they’re trying.”