New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail spirals into chaos amid coronavirus pandemic
- Inhumane conditions, inmate deaths and guards missing without explanation are just some of the issues plaguing the troubled prison complex
- At one point, more than one-third of the city’s jail guards were on sick leave or medically unfit to work with inmates
A spate of inmate deaths. Cellblocks unguarded. Staggering staffing shortages caused by AWOL guards. Detainees deprived of food and medical care.
New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex, troubled by years of neglect, has spiralled into turmoil during the coronavirus pandemic. It’s not just inmates and advocates saying that. City officials, including the mayor, admit there are serious problems.
One jail watchdog called it “a complete breakdown in the operation of the jails”.
“In our office’s 50 years of monitoring the city jails, this is one of the most dangerous times we’ve seen,” said Mary Lynne Werlwas, a lawyer and the director of the Prisoners’ Rights Project at the Legal Aid Society.
At one point during the summer, more than one-third of the city’s jail guards – about 3,050 of 8,500 – were on sick leave or medically unfit to work with inmates, according to the agency that runs the city’s jails, the Department of Correction. Some guards have been missing shifts without any explanation.