John,
There is a humanitarian crisis on Rikers Island and across New York City jails. The only solution is immediate decarceration.
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
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.
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!
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. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/325279?t=9&akid=52162%2E4731121%2ERqo4ke
2. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/325280?t=11&akid=52162%2E4731121%2ERqo4ke (April 20, 2021)
3. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/325281?t=13&akid=52162%2E4731121%2ERqo4ke (Last visited September 10, 2021)
4. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/325282?t=15&akid=52162%2E4731121%2ERqo4ke (September 14, 2021).
5. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/325283?t=17&akid=52162%2E4731121%2ERqo4ke
