Bikers Island Structural Injustice

The injustice of what is happening at Rikers Island comes from a neglectful system that has shown no care for the inmates or the staff’ safety. It is unfair to the inmates and staff that are subjected to the hate, violence, and lack of authority. This puts the staff members lives’ in danger, as well as the inmates. It does not matter why an inmate is at Rikers Island; the corrections officers’ jobs are to ensure the security of the detention facility and inmate rehabilitation. It is hurtful to New York’s justice system when there is no care going into the selection and hiring process because prison guards are meant to not only meant to guard, but also be helpful to the prisoners. An example of a grave injustice from the Rikers Island prison …show more content…
Many people (approximately 1,500 inmates at Rikers Island) have been in jail for over a year without being convicted. New York’s jails are flooded to the brim with inmates, many which have not been convicted yet or are being held on minor charges. It is important to clean up the prison systems because the longer some of these people stay in jail, the more acquainted they become with the corruptions of jail. Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that he is making Rikers Island prison system is top priority, although he doesn’t have much of choice being that United States prosecutors plan to sue New York City over civil rights violations in the handling of inmates at Rikers Island. The federal prosecutors say that insufficient change has been made and that the brutality and violence is still an issue. Bharara, United States attorney for Southern District of New York took on the Nunez v. City of New York in hopes that there will be a single, comprehensive settlement made about Rikers Island for inmates of all ages. Being that the root of the problem is violence, and the problem can’t be fixed until the violence stops, de Blasio is focusing on stopping contraband from coming in. He feels that the violence starts because of the drugs and money. The de Blasio administration has made some changes already, such as the end of solitary confinement for teenage inmates, ages sixteen and seventeen. The smuggling of contrabands through visitors as been restricted, which is only limited physical contact between visitors and inmates at the beginning and end of the visits. Plexiglas will be installed as a divider between inmates and visitors. A computerized screening system will be put into place by the Corrections Department as a way to make it difficult for people with criminal records or gang affiliations to visit.