COVID-19 turned what were already inhumane conditions at Rikers Island, New York’s most notorious jail, into a full-blown humanitarian crisis. Prisoners, activists, and legal advocates are demanding it be closed for good.
For years, prisoners, activists, and legal advocates have been drawing attention to the inhumane conditions at Rikers Island, New York’s most infamous jail complex. But the COVID-19 pandemic turned what was already a dire situation at Rikers into a full-blown humanitarian crisis. With cells grossly overcrowded, guards and medical staff largely absent, and an interior crumbling from disrepair, Rikers became a hotbed of contagion and needless death. What’s worse, as Judge Jonathan Lippman recently wrote in The New York Times, “90 percent of the human beings subjected to the appalling conditions at Rikers are there pretrial, many because they cannot afford bail. Almost 1,600 have been waiting for a trial for over a year. Almost 700 have been waiting for more than two.â€

In this episode of Rattling the Bars, TRNN Executive Producer Eddie Conway speaks with Olayemi Olurin about the ongoing crisis at Rikers and the renewed wave of outrage from the public and elected officials who are demanding that the jail be closed for good. Olurin is a public defender and staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society and an analyst at the Law & Crime Network.

Pre-Production/Studio/Post Production: Cameron Granadino
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** (Disclaimer: This video content is intended for educational and informational purposes only) **
they could build affordable Housings up
They want Rickers closed Yes. But who do you think is gonna but it???? The Jews community of course
Not one mention of the fact that the Rikers boat is on maritime law due to its location on the river…troublesome to say the least…
Goddamn, the money laundering for Rikers must be a loophole black hole with its budget that high. We really need to start cheating off the notes of the other nations in class. Finland's got a good answer to prisons and criminal justice, lets copy off their notes, but then that would force our nation to acknowledge we aren't the best nation in the world and that other nations are far better than ours.
Nah, lets just keep lying to ourselves that we're the best nation in the world while our quality of life diminishes further and further to third world conditions.
I’m just curious… where would the criminals be housed if there were no prisons??
Unless you quit arresting and jailing people for victimless crimes it's just going to get worse
first thing put an end to the War on Drugs which is a war on people… quit generating Revenue with victimless crime tickets…. end divorce court and stop stealing people's children
keep government out of people's lives and personal family business…
start spending some of that stolen taxpayer cash on training people how to be better human beings and family members….
all this crime is basically provoked by government existing ,we wouldn't have 99% of the crime we have right now if we got rid of government all together and started from scratch with a constitutional republic that actually is a constitutional republic and we make sure to never ever let evil corrupt satanic men take control of our country again….
Government and all their little cronies like the police and the courts and lawyers and the prosecutors and the judges make darn good ensure they have repeat customers that's how the system is set up the system is one giant human eating machine it is built that way and it is going to stay that way until the people realize what the heck's going on and get rid of the system we have now it has to go a constitutional Republic with a common law court system would be the greatest thing since sliced bread…. these evil satanic powers that shouldn't be will never let it happen they would start a mass World War whatever they had to to stop it from happening and distract us….
Corrupt Politicians, Judge's and Lawyers DON'T give a damn about what is going on at Rickers Island!!!!
hey Uncle Conway – we should talk about this alot of my past ten years has been doing the work to end rikers and city jails
"I feel honored and humbled and WHAT NOT". Such an articulate attorney.
And then start many sentences with, "So listen … " Try that in a courtroom !
Her points were good but …
Thanks Eddie so much and MY HEART GOES OUT TO Olayemi Olurin, what a truly blessed person and fighter.
I emailed state reps on the bail reform and am so disgusted the dumbshts rolled it back.
DEFUND THE PENTAGON so that you can truly really DEFUND THE POLICE. Once that's done the prisons will be easy picking to replace or transform into ordinary manufacturing plants with REAL JOBS.
Then REFUND THE PEOPLE.
Your fighting money and power.
Hope the very best for your fight, but very doubtful.
But where will the criminals go?
Fine.
Close Rikers.
What's gonna happen is…
NYC residents will simply get shipped to faraway facilities in some remote corner of the state where they'll be left to rot.
Far away from family members and nearby legal representation.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Meanwhile.
The island will be redeveloped with multi-billion dollar projects by mega-corporations and private developers.
As other parts of New York state will greatly benefit from the influx of detainees from New York city.
Be careful what you wish for.
The Department of Corruption that is what most criminal institutions are, created to make money.
The germans used to send people to learn from us – time to see what they are doing.
No one should be held against there will if they don't pose a threat to society.
It started in January…??
Let's go Brandon.
Rikers is prime real estate for some billionaires's to create themselves a new high-tech smart city gated community. Good security features.
Do you think the City will
A) build subsidized low income housing;
B) sell to developers for high priced condos;
C) your idea is???
Ok, what do you do with prisoners? Let them go free?
Bail reform is a great idea