Truthout
Rikers Island
Nothing Can Truly Prepare You for Your First Time Behind Bars
A new book offers an inside look at incarceration at Rikers Island, from intake to release.
New York City Council Passes Veto-Proof Measure Ending Solitary Confinement
The New York City Council approved bills banning solitary confinement and mandating that the NYPD report street stops.
Rikers Island Might Be Put Under Federal Control After Recent Scandal
A recent report details how the city has broken its promise to improve the jail’s dangerous and unsanitary conditions.
Decarceration Advocates Call for Rikers to Be Transformed Into Green Energy Hub
“The green plan is a great way to ensure that Rikers isn’t used or reimagined for punitive measures ever again.”
We Both Were Incarcerated at Rikers Island. Now We’re Discussing Its History.
I met Jarrod Shanahan before my own sentence at Rikers. His new book details how the jail “took New York City hostage.”
Rikers Island and the Shapeshifting Monster of Reform
“We’re talking about a hostage situation and the answer is to free the hostages,” says Kelly Hayes.
Rikers’ Forceful Guard Union Is Deepening the Jail’s Humanitarian Crisis
Rikers Island guards appear to be engaging in work stoppages to demand more guards and less oversight of their abuses.
Dismantle NYC’s Mass Surveillance Project — Start With Jail Recordings
In New York City, thousands of calls between incarcerated people and their legal teams were illegally recorded.
Prisoners Plea for Release, Protection Amid Skyrocketing Infection Rates
In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has yet to grant anyone freedom despite a number of confirmed cases among prisoners.
Will Rikers Island Free More People After Over 60 Test Positive for COVID-19?
Calls are growing in the New York City epicenter of the pandemic to release people from Rikers Island.