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The Board of Correction (BOC), a non-judicial oversight board that regulates, monitors, and inspects New York City's correctional facilities, presented Manhattan prosecutors with previously unseen images and videos of conditions inside Rikers Island prison last month.
These images provided a glimpse into the horrifying conditions that Rikers inmates are forced to endure in the midst of the facility's overall staffing crisis. Since 2021, the prison has been experiencing a staffing crisis, with nearly 1,100 officers calling in sick, according to a May 2022 NY1 article.
Rikers Island Prison, also known as Rikers, is a large New York City jail complex located on an island between Queens and the Bronx. In 1884, New York City paid a Dutch family $180,000 USD for Rikers Island. It has since been converted into a prison.
Rikers Island is managed by the New York City Department of Correction. As of 2000, it had a permanent population of 12,780 people and an annual budget of $860 million USD. Rikers Island was used as a military training facility during the American Civil War.
The latest photos show 'inhuman conditions' in Rikers Island Prison
The horrifying images of Rikers were obtained by the Gothamist through a public information request. These images depict the prison's depressing conditions. One such image, for instance, depicts a man defecating in his shorts due to a lack of restrooms. The man was made to wear filthy clothes for 11 hours before another prisoner brought him clean clothes.
Another image showed a prisoner inflicting harm on himself. He spent about 24 hours in a decontamination shower before being removed from a trolley. Prisoners were even seen transporting sick patients to medical care facilities and performing chest compressions on their own when assigned officers were not present. Five Mualimm-ak, a former Rikers detainee, said:
“never see Rikers — they never see where they’re sending people to die. The purpose was: When you’re sending people to Rikers, when you’re asking for high amounts of bail when they’re poor, you’re condemning them to a death sentence, essentially.”
Other images depicted spoiled food, vacant recreation areas, overcrowded intake facilities, and deteriorating infrastructure. Since the year 2022 began, 16 prisoners have died while being held in custody, with a few others being released on compassionate grounds.
The recent shocking revelations add to a long and depressing history of poor conditions at Rikers.
The Board of Correction, which monitors compliance in metropolitan jails, was contacted to participate in the panel discussion, according to a district attorney's office representative.
According to the office, lawyers will also visit Rikers in the coming days to take a personal tour of the Rikers island in order to gain a better understanding of the situation.
