Rikers Island - New York Magazine
Give A Gift
Displaying all articles tagged:

Rikers Island

  1. politics
    The End of Solitary Confinement and What Comes NextCarlina Rivera voted to end the practice in city jails and says her colleagues on the council are prepared to override Mayor Adams’s veto.
    By Nia Prater
  2. politics
    Rikers Island Is Going on TrialPromised reforms have failed. Dozens have died. Now the city may be forced to hand over the jail to the Feds.
    By Nia Prater
  3. politics
    The Adams Administration Has a New Policy for Jail Deaths: Cover-upThe Department of Correction will no longer alert the media of inmate deaths. The move comes after a report raised questions about deadly incidents.
    By Nia Prater
  4. crime
    The Tragedy of the Spice KingWhen a promising entrepreneur was seized by mental illness, his neighbors became victims and he became trapped in a broken system.
    By James D. Walsh
  5. the city politic
    The Growing Cover-up of Rikers Island DeathsThe head of the city’s jails told aides to keep a dying man off his “department’s count,” according to the New York Times.
    By Matt Stieb
  6. rikers island
    NYC Jails Headed for More Deaths Than Last Year’s Grim TollMuch attention was paid to deaths at Rikers and other facilities in New York in 2021, but even more people are on track to die behind bars in 2022.
    By Matt Stieb
  7. the city politic
    Eric Adams Isn’t Off to a Great Start on Public SafetyAs Adams nears 100 days in office, there’s already good reason to wonder if the results of his public safety strategy will ever match his rhetoric.
    By Errol Louis
  8. criminal justice
    Is Solitary Confinement Here to Stay at Rikers Island?The movement to ban it slammed into a wall of opposition, first from Bill de Blasio and now from Eric Adams.
    By Matt Stieb
  9. rikers
    Rikers: The ObituariesFifteen people at the jail died in 2021. These are their lives — and how they came to an end.
    By Bliss Broyard and Lisa Riordan Seville
  10. politics
    Women and Trans Inmates to Be Transferred Out of RikersThis move comes as state and local officials are trying to grapple with the crisis at Rikers that has resulted in multiple inmate deaths this year.
    By Nia Prater
  11. rikers island
    ‘It’s Hard to Find the Words to Describe How Bad It Is Right Now on Rikers’Legal Aid Society attorney Corey Stoughton shares her thoughts on the current crisis at Rikers Island.
    By Nia Prater
  12. criminal justice
    When Will Joe Biden Start Using His Clemency Powers?The president has signaled he wants to grant more pardons and commutations. The time to begin is now.
    By Zak Cheney-Rice
  13. covid-19
    Who ‘Deserves’ Jail During a Pandemic?The Cook County Jail in Chicago is America’s biggest coronavirus hotspot. Why did we allow this?
    By Zak Cheney-Rice
  14. covid-19
    Rikers Island Reports Its First COVID-Related Prisoner DeathMichael Tyson, 53, had been locked up for a noncriminal, technical parole violation.
    By Zak Cheney-Rice
  15. coronavirus
    ‘We’re Going to All Start Dropping’: Rikers Inmates on Being Prisoners of COVID“It’s like The Walking Dead in here.”
    By Zak Cheney-Rice
  16. coronavirus
    Coronavirus Fears Spark Prison Strikes, Protests, and Riots Around the WorldFrom Colombia to France to the U.S., prisoners are struggling to protect themselves where their jailers won’t.
    By Zak Cheney-Rice
  17. coronavirus
    Rikers Island Prisoner Tests Positive for CoronavirusAdvocates have long warned about the deadly stakes of a jail or prison outbreak.
    By Zak Cheney-Rice
  18. coronavirus
    Will Rikers Island Free Inmates Because of the Coronavirus?On Tuesday, the New York City Board of Correction called for the immediate release of high-risk inmates to limit the spread.
    By James D. Walsh
  19. cityscape
    Spending $9 Billion on New Architecture Will Not Solve the Rikers ProblemAttitudes toward crime and incarceration, rather than the physical place, are most of the problem.
    By Justin Davidson
  20. urbanism
    Touring the Overlooked Islands of New YorkUnearthing our hidden histories, from buried bodies to heron sanctuaries.
  21. paul manafort
    Paul Manafort Rescued From Rikers by Deputy Attorney General“Calling this highly unusual doesn’t even begin to capture” it, one legal expert tweeted.
    By Adam K. Raymond
  22. paul manafort
    Paul Manafort to Be Transferred to Rikers IslandThe federal inmate and former Trump campaign manager may soon be transferred to New York City’s largest prison as he awaits state fraud charges.
    By Matt Stieb
  23. the city
    City Seeks to Move Mentally Ill Inmates to HospitalsOfficials are exploring creating “therapeutic” units for inmates with complex medical needs. But who will run the units is being closely watched.
    By Reuven Blau and Rosa Goldensohn
  24. the city
    City Jails Sued Over Brooklyn Man’s Untreated Health WoesLloyd Haynes says he was ignored as he suffered from rare intestinal condition while in the Tombs and Rikers. He’s seeking $90 million in damages.
    By Reuven Blau
  25. criminal-justice system
    Is There Justice for Rikers Inmates Who Accuse Guards of Rape?The crime that is the women’s jail.
    By John H. Tucker
  26. bill de blasio’s new york
    Mayor de Blasio Releases Plan for the End of RikersThe ten-year proposal calls for vastly reducing the jail population and building new jails elsewhere, among other welcome reforms.
    By Jen Kirby
  27. New York City Will Close Rikers Island, Mayor de Blasio SaysThe plan is to replace the jail with several smaller facilities spread around the city.
    By Adam K. Raymond
  28. criminal justice reform
    New York City Will Stop Putting Teenagers in Solitary ConfinementThe decision raises the permitted age for solitary confinement from 18 to 21.
    By Charley Lanyon
  29. excerpt
    Read an Excerpt From Lil Wayne’s Prison JournalThe book, written during his eight-month jail sentence at Rikers Island in 2010, is out this week.
    By Lil Wayne
  30. Read an Excerpt From Lil Wayne’s Prison JournalThe book, written during his eight-month jail sentence at Rikers Island in 2010, is out this week.
    By Lil Wayne
  31. Rikers Island Cannot Figure Out How to Stop Rising Inmate ViolenceKnife attacks up almost 50 percent.
    By Samuel Lieberman
  32. crime and punishment
    Rikers Inmates Given Allowance, Pizza PartiesBut only if they’re on their best behavior.
    By Adam K. Raymond
  33. roundtable
    New York, Marshall Project Rikers Roundtable The writers of our New York cover story will be available Monday, June 29, at 1 p.m. EST to answer your questions.
  34. investigations
    Inside Rikers Island, Through the Eyes of the People Who Live and Work ThereWhat everyday life is really like inside the troubled jail, in the words of inmates, correction officers, and the man tasked with fixing it.
    By Dana Goldstein, Simone Weichselbaum, and Christie Thompson
  35. investigations
    Inside Rikers Island, Through the Eyes of the People Who Live and Work ThereJail has a smell. Worse than a sewer. People on the outside could never understand.
    By Dana Goldstein, Simone Weichselbaum, and Christie Thompson
  36. crime and punishment
    City Agrees to Sweeping Reforms at Rikers IslandIncluding the appointment of a federal monitor.
    By Margaret Hartmann
  37. rikers island
    Changes Could Be Coming to Rikers IslandOfficials are close to finishing a deal that would bring many reforms to the prison.
    By Jaime Fuller
  38. crime and punishment
    Rikers Island Inmates Claim They Were Served Poisoned MeatloafIt contained blue and green specks, which they believe was rat poison.
    By Margaret Hartmann
  39. crimes and misdemeanors
    Rikers Island Is Still Horribly Violent Despite all of the outside attention the problem has received.
    By Caroline Bankoff
  40. crime and punishment
    A Third of Rikers Island Guards Gave Themselves a Snow DayHundreds of inmates had to be put on lockdown during a recent snowstorm.
    By Margaret Hartmann
  41. crime and punishment
    Many Rikers Island Guards Hired Despite ‘Significant Red Flags’Such as gang affiliations, criminal histories, and relationships with inmates.
    By Margaret Hartmann
  42. crime and punishment
    Use of Force in NYC Jails Is at a Record High Though the de Blasio administration has promised reforms.
    By Margaret Hartmann
  43. crime and punishment
    New York City to Stop Putting Under-21-Year-Olds in Solitary Confinement Progress. 
    By Caroline Bankoff
  44. crimes and misdemeanors
    Rikers Guard Charged in Case of Inmate Who ‘Baked to Death’Carol Lackner seems to have lied about whether she checked on Jerome Murdough.
    By Caroline Bankoff
  45. rikers
    Rikers Opens New Housing for Transgender WomenTo keep them safe.
    By Katie Zavadski
  46. crimes and misdemeanors
    Sneaking Vodka, Drugs, and Razor Blades Into Rikers Island Is Pretty Damn EasyFor the guards.
    By Joe Coscarelli
  47. lawsuits
    City Settles Lawsuit Over Rikers Inmate Who ‘Baked to Death’ for $2.25 MillionJerome Murdough, a mentally ill veteran, died last February.
    By Caroline Bankoff
  48. crimes and misdemeanors
    Top Rikers Island Guard Retires Under PressureTop uniformed officer Williams Clemons and two others are out.
    By Joe Coscarelli
  49. rikers island
    Rikers Island Didn’t Bother Telling Families It Let Inmates DieA deeply depressing new report.
    By Joe Coscarelli
  50. crimes and misdemeanors
    Former Rikers Inmate Claims Guard Sodomized HimNow he’s planning to sue the city.
    By Margaret Hartmann
Load More