No change in Rikers hell waits
THE NUMBER of people stuck on Rikers Island for more than a year has barely budged in the year and a half since Mayor de Blasio launched reforms — drawing criticism from the family of a Bronx man who killed himself after three nightmarish years there.
There are currently between 1,300 and 1,400 people who have been locked up for more than a year awaiting trial — compared to 1,427 in April 2015, when de Blasio announced the Justice Reboot program to speed up cases.
“There’s no change, period,” said Akeem Browder, the brother of Kalief Browder, who hanged himself at his family’s home after a three-year ordeal at Rikers, where he endured beatings and solitary. He was unable to pay bail on charges of stealing a backpack, which were later dropped.
The men’s mother, Venida Browder, died less than two weeks ago of what her lawyer called a broken heart.
Officials promised that with the Justice Reboot program, which will be the subject of a City Council oversight hearing Wednesday, half of incarcerated defendants who were awaiting trial for more than a year would have their cases resolved within six months.
The mayor’s office says it has exceeded that goal — 50% of the 1,427 cases were cleared in four months, and now 91% have been resolved. But City Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Queens) says that’s not a sign of progress if new defendants have simply taken their place languishing on Rikers for too long.