Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

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‘A stain on New York City’: As lawmakers vote to close Rikers Island, some see history repeating itself

“Today, however, the jail complex — the second-largest in the United States — is nearly synonymous with the tolls of mass incarceration and its disproportionate effects on blacks and Hispanics. Thousands of inmates have been held there for years on end as they await trial, critics say, in facilities that have been rife with abuse, violence and mismanagement for decades. Now, Rikers will probably be closed for nearly the same reason it was opened.“

Washington Post

October 18, 2019