Criminal Justice
News & Politics
As federal takeover of Rikers Island looms, Mayor Eric Adams insists jails conditions are improving
The mayor credited outgoing DOC commissioner Louis Molina with moving things in “the right direction.”
Criminal Justice
Opinion: It’s time to reinvest the savings from the Less is More Act
Five communities impacted by New York’s historic parole rules said investments in housing and mental health treatment services should be a priority.
Opinion
Opinion: The PLAN Act promotes fairness for formerly incarcerated people
The proposed legislation would bring greater transparency to the state licensing process, which is currently discouraging would-be nurses and social workers from entering their fields due to barriers relating to conviction history.
Courts
New York’s progressive chief judge joins with conservatives to expand DNA searches by law enforcement
In a 4-3 decision, Chief Judge Rowan Wilson ruled that the Commission on Forensic Science has the authority to allow law enforcement to search DNA databases to find partial DNA matches from relatives of potential suspects.
Politics
DOC critic Jacqueline Sherman tapped for reappointment to Board of Correction
The mayor's office had hoped to replace Sherman when her term expired, but a behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign succeeded in keeping her on the board of the jails watchdog.
Politics
Council Member Inna Vernikov brought a gun to a protest. Did she break the law?
Openly carrying a pistol to a college protest could fall afoul of New York state’s strict gun laws.
Rikers Island
Federal monitor concludes DOC is incapable of running Rikers well
The monitor’s latest report finds that stabbings are up, deaths in custody are continuing and nothing will change so long as DOC is in charge.
Policy
DOC stopped providing tampons to detainees – despite 2016 law mandating it
The Department of Correction has a problem with menstruation, amid fears that tampons will be used to smoke drugs and menstrual cups will be used for “splashings.”
Education
Major felony crimes up in New York City schools
School safety has been a major focus after a string of high-profile incidents occurred outside school buildings last year.
Policy
Judge rejects state prison system’s attempt to dismiss lawsuit over solitary confinement
The class action lawsuit was filed by a group of people incarcerated in state prisons, including one man who was sent to solitary confinement for 120 days after throwing sugar packets and urinating on the floor.
News & Politics
Top DOC lawyer Paul Shechtman resigns
Shechtman’s decision to quietly step down last week suggests DOC Commissioner Louis Molina’s legal arguments may not even pass the smell test with his own lawyers.
News & Politics
Divisions within oversight agency may imperil lawsuit against DOC
The mayor’s new appointees could shift the balance of power on the Board of Correction, leading the watchdog agency to abandon its lawsuit against DOC.
Policy
Dying man’s cries for help at Rikers Island went unheeded, fellow detainees say
Two people in the same unit recalled how jail guards failed to respond to Donny Ubiera’s fight for his life.
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Heard Around Town
NYPD doesn’t need to be more detailed in tech transparency, official says
“I'm more concerned about public safety and keeping people safe and being true to the spirit of the law,” Ruben Beltran said, when asked about criticisms of POST Act compliance.
Policy
After PR stunts, damning reports and a new lawsuit, judge sets stage for potential federal takeover of Rikers next year
Federal judge Laura Taylor Swain is losing patience with the city Department of Correction, which has now come under fire from the court-appointed federal monitor, Legal Aid Society, federal prosecutors, city comptroller and Board of Correction.
Opinion
Opinion: Judicial independence or intimidation?
The same judicial organizations who condemned academics for publishing a paper about judges setting excessive bail were silent when a judge was reassigned for declining to set bail.
Opinion
Opinion: Closing Rikers is the joke of the decade
There’s no way Rikers will be replaced by four borough-based jails by 2027. So let’s reform Rikers instead.
Opinion
Opinion: Eric Adams has failed. It’s time for a federal receiver to take over at Rikers
Receivership is the only way to improve conditions and save lives at the troubled jail complex
Criminal Justice
What needs to change at Rikers? Everything.
We asked more than a dozen criminal justice experts. They urged staying the course on borough-based jails – and many called for a federal takeover of Rikers in the meantime.
Policy
