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John, 

There is a humanitarian crisis on Rikers Island and across New York City
jails. The only solution is immediate decarceration.

[ [link removed] ]send a letter: demand nyc district attorneys let our people go

In April 2020, after years of successful advocacy and organizing aimed at
closing Rikers Island - the last remaining penal colony in the United
States - New York City jails were detaining less than 4,000 people for the
first time in 75 years!^1

But since then, the jail population has swelled to over 6,000 people. And,
John, more than 89% of those people have not even been
convicted. 

Unsurprisingly, Black and brown people bear the brunt of this unjust
system. Over 90% of the people held in NYC jails are Black and Latinx.^2

Meanwhile, guards have walked off the job in droves - using sick days or
going AWOL as a means to create more chaos and in the process, only making
the situation worse for incarcerated people.

Incarcerated people are now routinely being denied medical care, food,
water, and other basic needs. They are being left in de facto lockdown for
hours, days, and sometimes weeks. 

Incarcerated people and their families as well as public defenders have
been sounding the alarm for months.^3 And still, John, 12
people have died in the New York City jails this year alone.^4

^[ [link removed] ]demand we decarcerate now

John, just this past July, the Department of Corrections
reported that 989 people detained pretrial had been in custody for longer
than 600 days!^5 

This is despite evidence from court data and community bail funds that
show that most people will return to court if released pretrial. 

Let’s be clear, no one should have to sit in a jail cell because they
don’t have the financial means to pay bail. 

The harms of being detained pretrial reverberate beyond the accused
person, often leading to a heightened risk of loss of a job, housing, or
custody of children, and increased risk of future arrest. 

All people should benefit from the presumption of innocence, not just
those who can pay.

[ [link removed] ]no one deserves to die because they can't afford bail

John, DAs keep asking for bail, and in amounts that defendants
can’t pay, condemning people - almost all Black and brown, to what
officials have described as hell on earth.

Dr. Robert Cohen, a member of the NYC Board of Correction, an oversight
body for the jails, recently said, “Every person they send to jail is at
great risk of harm and death.”

People are being sentenced to death before they are even convicted!

[ [link removed] ]take action: let's decarcerate Rikers Island now 

Until Justice is Real,

Scott, Erika, Rashad, Arisha, Malachi, Megan, Ernie, Palika, Ariel,
Madison, Trevor, Erick, Ana, Kristiana, McKayla and the Color Of Change
team

 

 

 

References:

1. [link removed]

2. [ [link removed] ][link removed]
(April 20, 2021)

3. [ [link removed] ][link removed]
(Last visited September 10, 2021)

4. [ [link removed] ][link removed]
(September 14, 2021).

5. [ [link removed] ][link removed]



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