New York's (In)Justice System: Examining the Human Rights Abuses on Rikers Island Both Past and Present

Abstract

Rikers Island, in New York City, has existed for around one hundred years and was originally created as a solution to the many problems with Welfare Island's jail. Built on the ashes of New York's century old garbage and refuse, several jail facilities have arisen, existing frequently in chaos. A near stone's throw from Rikers Island is the Vernon C. Bain Correctional barge, a jail barge built in 1994 and anchored permanently to the shore of the Bronx, created to address the problem of overcrowding on the island. This would continue to be a problem up until the present day, and with the vile, unsanitary conditions leading to the death of many incarcerated persons. In 2021 alone, fifteen incarcerated people died on Rikers and one on the barge, some from Covid-19. Four more have died so far this year. Rikers Island is a bastion of the civil rights violations that plague the wealthiest country in the world's justice system. Parts of the facility are even today in violation of international law as set forth by the United Nations. The time has come to close Rikers Island.Rikers Island, in New York City, has existed for around one hundred years and was originally created as a solution to the many problems with Welfare Island's jail. Built on the ashes of New York's century old garbage and refuse, several jail facilities have arisen, existing frequently in chaos. A near stone's throw from Rikers Island is the Vernon C. Bain Correctional barge, a jail barge built in 1994 and anchored permanently to the shore of the Bronx, created to address the problem of overcrowding on the island. This would continue to be a problem up until the present day, and with the vile, unsanitary conditions leading to the death of many incarcerated persons. In 2021 alone, fifteen incarcerated people died on Rikers and one on the barge, some from Covid-19. Four more have died so far this year. Rikers Island is a bastion of the civil rights violations that plague the wealthiest country in the world's justice system. Parts of the facility are even today in violation of international law as set forth by the United Nations. The time has come to close Rikers Island.