Policy

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.

Heard Around Town

Policy

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

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

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

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.

Criminal Justice

Politics

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

Policy

More people have died in New York City jails than previously known

Since 2014, at least 120 people held in city jails have died while in custody or shortly after being released on medical grounds – but some of those deaths have gone unreported.

Policy

Policy

Here's how parents are really treated on Rikers

Unable to exercise their parental rights, incarcerated fathers and mothers can often feel isolated from their children.

Heard Around Town

Policy

Poll: New Yorkers support Wrongful Convictions Act

The vast majority of people polled last month supported legislation that would make it easier to overturn wrongful convictions.

Rikers Island

Policy

Elected officials sound the alarm on proposed city budget cuts to Rikers

Amid proposed cuts to jail-based programming, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams says the Eric Adams administration is at a crossroads

NYPD

Policy

Under Adams and Sewell, advocates allege rollback in police accountability

The city’s police watchdog said that Sewell has disagreed with or declined to pursue their recommended discipline for substantiated complaints of misconduct in most cases.

2023 session wrap-up

Policy

With new bill, Clean Slate looks closer than ever to becoming law

State leaders say they’ve reached a three-way deal on sealing people’s criminal records after a multi-year period.

Criminal Justice

Policy

Rap Music on Trial bill would stop prosecutors from citing irrelevant lyrics in court

The bill addresses the increasingly common practice of prosecutors using defendants’ rap songs to harm their character.

Criminal Justice

Policy

This year’s Clean Slate debate is a familiar one

New York lawmakers have long argued over whose records should be sealed, from whom they should be kept and how long after they served prison time.

Opinion

Opinion

Opinion: Cuts to programming that helps people incarcerated at Rikers Island are shortsighted

The Department of Correction wants to eliminate $17 million in jail-based programs

Opinion

Opinion

Opinion: It's time to eliminate New York's statute of limitations for sex trafficking

Survivors shouldn’t be prevented from securing the accountability and justice they deserve because they’ve taken too long to come forward.

Criminal Justice

Policy

Latrice Walker and public defenders pledge to fight excessive bail despite latest rollbacks to bail reform

Bail reform or no bail reform, judges are still bound by the Eighth Amendment prohibition on excessive bail, the Assembly member said.

Criminal Justice

Policy

Parole bills advance in NY Legislature

The bills would make it easier for incarcerated people to be considered for release.