rikers island
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Jay-Z and Meek Mill's Reform Alliance to Send 100,000 Masks to Prisons
As COVID-19 continues to spread across the country, one of the places that are being most affected are jails and prisons. They are also the places most likely to be overlooked in the government’s horribly mismanaged response efforts. According to CBS News, Jay-Z and Meek Mill’s REFORM Alliance is donating 100,000 masks to multiple jails…
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The 1st Rikers Island Detainee to Die From Coronavirus Complications Was Jailed for Parole Violation
The first jail inmate to test positive for COVID-19 at Rikers Island, Michael Tyson, died on Sunday. According to multiple people familiar with Tyson’s case, he contracted and died from the disease while awaiting a hearing on a parole violation. Tyson was just 53 years old, reports The New York Times, and had been detained…
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Andrew Cuomo Is Trash
In a crisis—and absent any real leadership from the president—people love an authoritative man with a PowerPoint. That explains, partially, the surge of popularity New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is experiencing. As the leader of the state that is currently the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis in the U.S., he exhibits the sort of governance…
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A Death Sentence: As Jails Struggle to Stem Coronavirus Outbreaks, Delays Could Spell Disaster
On March 19, the chief physician of New York City’s jail system, Ross MacDonald, issued a warning on Twitter: “A storm is coming.” In a plea directed at city prosecutors and judges, MacDonald said he noticed how swiftly courts were closed in response to COVID-19. “This was fundamentally an act of social distancing, a sound…
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After Ignoring Complaints for Years, New York City Agrees to Pay $12.5 Million to Department of Corrections Visitors Subjected to Invasive Searches
After years of subjecting jail visitors to invasive searches, New York City has agreed to resolve the matter by coughing up $12.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit. From Top Class Actions: The settlement benefits individuals who attempted to visit an inmate at a New York City Department of Correction facility between Nov. 23, 2012…
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The Benefits of Whiteness: Paul Manafort Won't Be Going to Rikers Island. He Can Thank the Department of Justice
Paul Manafort is a criminal. Paul Manafort is also a rich white man. Paul Manafort was supposed to be sent to Rikers Island while awaiting trial on New York State charges because that’s what happens when someone commits crimes in New York. But, Paul Manafort is also Trump’s former campaign manager. So, Paul Manafort won’t…
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Activists Demand Justice for Layleen Polanco, a Black Trans Woman Found Dead in a Rikers Island Jail Cell
A 27-year-old black trans woman, Layleen Polanco, also known as Layleen Xtravaganza, was found dead in her jail cell on Rikers Island last week, and the LGBTQ community and her family plan to rally today to demand justice in her name. Polanco was arrested in mid-April for allegedly assaulting a cab driver in Harlem and…
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Someone Get Kim Kardashian on the Phone: Trump's Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort Headed to Rikers Island
I am sure that Kim Kardashian is already on top of this but Paul Manafort, the president’s one-time campaign chairman who’s serving a federal prison sentence, is heading to the notorious Rikers Island jail in New York City where he’s expected to spend his time in solitary confinement while he awaits state fraud charges. Manafort…
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New York City Settles With Family of Kalief Browder for $3.3 Million
New York City will pay $3.3 million to the family of Kalief Browder, a Bronx native whose unlawful imprisonment on Rikers Island became the subject of national headlines and a critically acclaimed documentary. Browder, accused of stealing a backpack which contained cash and an iPod, was detained and held on Rikers Island for three years,…