A sequence of inhumane viral images of Rikers Island have swept the web, sparking the dialog on jail reform as photographs of inmates residing in deplorable situations shocked individuals on social media.
The photographs present inmates locked in makeshift cell bathe stalls, an unresponsive inmate clearly in want of medical consideration, and inmates lined in feces after being left for hours at a time in a damning look into the nation’s jail system.
Viral Jail Pictures Present Inmates Lined In Feces, Locked In Bathe Stalls, And In Want Of Medical Consideration
Public Defender at Authorized Assist NYC Olayemi Olurin tweeted the images captioned with the next:
“THIS IS INSIDE RIKERS. You’ll be able to see individuals lined in feces they’ve been left in for 9+ hours, you possibly can see males locked in bathe stalls which were changed into cells, you possibly can see males carrying an unresponsive man searching for medical consideration.”
THIS IS INSIDE RIKERS. You’ll be able to see individuals lined in feces they’ve been left in for 9+ hours, you possibly can see males locked in bathe stalls which were turned to cells. You’ll be able to see the boys carrying an unresponsive man searching for medical consideration pic.twitter.com/kCJriR0MZm
— Olayemi Olurin (@msolurin) September 29, 2022
Her tweet has acquired over 26K likes and practically 12K retweets as of Thursday.
Olurin wrote that the situations at Rikers was “inhumane, evil, deliberate, and it’s been finished to Black and brown New Yorkers since 1932.”
She added that 31 inmates have died on the jail since final yr alone.
“That is contained in the models the place persons are housed. That is inhumane, that is evil, that is deliberate, and it’s been being finished to Black and brown New Yorkers since 1932. 31 individuals have died since final yr, WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH?!”
Olurin went on to say that Rikers Island “was solely constructed to carry 3,000 individuals, so why are are over 5,000 individuals who haven’t been convicted of a criminal offense?!”
Most just lately, three inmates died within the house of three days, with NYC Mayor Eric Adams being accused of masking it as much as delay a Division of Justice investigation.
NYC Mayor Accused Of Overlaying Up Inmate Deaths Amidst DOJ Investigation, Blames Disaster On Workers Scarcity
Mayor Adams has continued accountable the disaster on a jail staffing scarcity when the truth is there are 5,600 detainees and seven,575 corrections officers.
That’s 1.3 guards for each inmate, which means every incarcerated individual may have their very own jail guard with practically 2,000 officers to spare.
The Metropolis NY’s Reuven Blau reported that earlier than one Rikers inmate, Dashawn Carter, took his personal life on Might 7, he had desperately referred to as reporter Rosa Goldensohn in April 2020 to inform her concerning the dire situations.
Carter instructed her that he missed upwards of 100 medical appointments throughout his time at Rikers courting again to 2018, data present.
Social Media Reacts To Despicable Viral Pictures Of Jail Situations At Rikers Island
The response on social media on Olurin’s expose has largely been supportive of jail reform.
“No human ought to be subjected to such situations,” one individual tweeted in response to the images. “My Lord, canine kennels have been shut down for much less,” one other wrote.
“That is horrific!” a 3rd tweeted. “Shameful. Smdh,” one other wrote.
“Amen; sadly Adams, Albany and the vast majority of elected officers merely don’t give a rattling,” one person replied. “There are such a lot of cities with jails like this. It’s disgusting how persons are handled,” a second individual provided.
One individual took goal at Mayor Adams, tweeting “Eric Adams makes me sick. He’s simply one other cop. Thats it, and he has the warrior us vs. them mentality they practice cops to have – which isn’t good for governing *something*”
“So, slave labor,” one individual tweeted. “Thanks for exposing and shining the sunshine on this corruption,” a second wrote.
Marketing campaign To Shut Rikers, Rallies At Metropolis Corridor, And Measures To Decrease Jailhouse Populations
In 2019, the Marketing campaign to Shut Rikers emerged, with advocates introducing a plan to close it by lowering the jail’s inhabitants to three,300 and shutting further metropolis jails committing the identical abuses behind jailhouse partitions.
A 3rd measure would divert $1.8 billion that might be saved yearly by reducing the inhabitants to three,300 into housing, healthcare, training, financial improvement and youth companies in poor communities, per Olurin’s NewsOne op-ed.
In the meantime in June, a rally was held outdoors of Metropolis Corridor the place activists and members of the family of inmates demanded Mayor Adams’ administration do extra in addressing the residing situations on the jail.
Some held indicators that learn “Rikers Is A Demise Sentence” whereas one other signal learn “Rikers Is A Slave Ship #Neglect #NYCJailCrisis #CloseRikers.”
