200 Inmates Hunger Strike Over 'Inhumane' Rikers Island

"New York City officials need to act NOW to decarcerate, end solitary confinement, and ensure people have access to medical care and other basic needs," says Jerome Wright of NYCAIC, in solidarity with hunger-striking Rikers Island inmates.

Rikers Island and the Shapeshifting Monster of Reform

“We’re talking about a hostage situation and the answer is to free the hostages,” says Kelly Hayes.

How to Solve the Crisis on Rikers Island

The dangerously overcrowded and mismanaged jail must be closed—but even before then, there are things we can do right now to keep people out and send them home faster.

A Death Trap? As 12th Prisoner Dies at NYC’s Rikers Island, Calls Grow to Close World’s Largest Jail

We take an in-depth look at the growing humanitarian crisis at the world’s largest jail complex, Rikers Island in New York City. After touring the jail, New York City Public Advocate ​​Jumaane Williams describes it as “a disaster.” In response to...

"They Are Throwing New Yorkers Into Cages on Rikers Island in Our Name!”

In a rare move, a group of elected officials has begun showing up in courtrooms to bear witness to the banal cruelty that keep Rikers going.

Rikers Island: New York’s Heart of Darkness

A few weeks ago, New York City elected officials on a visit to the intake center of Rikers Island, the infamous prison complex that has stood on its own island in the East River since 1932, were greeted by one of the inmates attempting suicide....

Closing Rikers Island Is a Matter of Life and Death

Isaabdul Karim wasn’t sentenced to death. In fact, he was never sentenced at all.