The problematic Rikers Island jail complex is on the brink of a federal takeover after a judge held New York City in contempt on Wednesday for failing to stop violence and abuse at its cells.
U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain of Manhattan said in a written ruling that the city had violated the Constitution by disregarding 18 different court order provisions concerning security, staffing, supervision, use of force, and the safety of juvenile detainees.
She said that in the nine years since the city resolved abuse and violence accusations, the long-standing filthy conditions had gotten much worse, made worse by the jail administration’s indifference or incapacity to carry out mandated repairs.
Swain therefore mandated that the city and attorneys representing the detainees meet with a monitor designated by the court to discuss a proposed framework for a federal receivership, an exceptional action that would relinquish public management of one of the biggest and most infamous jail systems in the country.
Mayor Eric Adams, who has fiercely resisted a federal takeover, declared on Wednesday that the city had made great strides in resolving the problems and neglect that have plagued Rikers Island for decades.
He said, “While we are proud of the work we have done, we also know that more needs to be done. We look forward to working with the federal monitoring team on our shared goal of continuing to improve the safety of everyone in our jails.”
However, Swain concluded in her decision that the administration’s efforts were not enough to reverse the trend in a reasonable amount of time. She said that the city’s persistent withholding of crucial information from the monitor suggests that it occasionally acted in bad faith in its refusal to follow court-ordered improvements.
According to Swain, the Court is inclined to impose a receivership, which would make the management of the use of force and safety aspects of the Rikers Island jails ultimately answerable directly to the Court. She also ordered the parties to submit a plan for an effective receivership by January 14.
A court-appointed receiver would take over some or all of the municipal jail’s operations under a federal receivership, simplifying decisions about hiring, contracts, and regulations while attempting to increase safety and adherence to mandated changes. The Justice Department would not take over, and the city’s jails would not join the federal Bureau of Prisons.
Swain’s 65-page decision was the result of legal action that began over ten years ago after the city’s Department of Correction was accused of using excessive and needless force by the Legal Aid Society, a public defender organization, and others.
The landmark ruling was applauded by the Legal Aid Society and the legal firm Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, which claimed that it would finally pave the way for reform that would safeguard people who had been let down by the jail administration.
All New Yorkers, regardless of incarceration status, can be treated with the respect and dignity guaranteed by the law if the court acknowledges that the current system has failed and that receivership free from political and other outside influences is the way forward, they said.
Benny Boscio, the president of the union that represents correction officers, said in a separate statement that the decision was based on a false narrative and that the federal monitor and municipal politicians had handcuffed, scapegoated, understaffed, and defunded jail workers.
As of right now, the city still has authority over its jails, until Swain takes more action.
Situated on a remote island in the East River, the prison complex has long been plagued by widespread chaos and disrepair. However, after the city and parties reached a settlement, consent decree, and the appointment of a federal monitor in October 2015, rates of violence, use of force, self-harm, and deaths in custody in municipal jails have clearly increased, according to Swain.
Even worse, the judge said that despite being obviously anomalous and undesirable, the hazardous and deadly conditions in the jails—which are marked by historically high rates of violence and force—have become the norm.
In 2022, 19 people lost their lives while being held at Rikers Island. Five people died in the first eight months of this year, and nine more perished in 2023. According to Swain, the number of staff assaults, fights, and stabbings and slashes is still incredibly high.
The judge noted that the risk of injury to people who reside and work in the Rikers Island facilities had not significantly decreased.
New York City is legally obligated to close Rikers Island and replace it with four smaller, more contemporary prisons by 2027, as per a 2019 city council-approved plan. However, Adams, a Democrat, has expressed opposition to the shutdown and urged lawmakers to devise a backup plan, given the recent increase in the jail population. The city’s budget director admitted earlier this year that officials probably wouldn’t make the deadline.
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