Community members, elected officials, and advocates held a rally in front of the federal courthouse building in Foley Square in Manhattan on Tuesday, Sept. 10, to demand action and decry the current state of jails across the city, including on Rikers Island.

 

The rally was prompted by the recent deaths in mid-July of Charizma Jones, 23, a Bronx resident, and on Aug. 20 of Anthony Jordan, 63. Rally attendees say both died after being held in custody on Rikers Island. Jones’ family, The Legal Aid Society, and other advocates allege Jones was denied medical care while detained at the City jail. The NY Post reported that this was despite her having suspected scarlet fever in May, though medical reports are inconclusive.

 

The Post reported Jones had been serving a one-year sentence for a Manhattan slashing from 2023. At the rally, Chaplain Dr. Victoria A. Phillips said, “Once again, we have to come out here, and let the administration in New York City know that we are serious and that lives cannot continue to be lost on their watch.” She continued, “Two New Yorkers, two constituents, have died in the summer of 2024 because of the barbaric conditions at Rikers Island.”

 

Rikers Island is a jail complex that houses detainees who are awaiting trial, serving sentences of one year or less, or who are temporarily placed there. The jail has long-been a hot point of contention among New Yorkers, elected officials and detainee advocates, due, in part, to reports of overcrowding, deaths in custody, drug smuggling, and allegations of mismanagement, lack of adequate medical care, lack of safety (for both detainees and staff), lack of heat, violence, among other issues.

 

According to July 29 reporting from City & State, at least 19 people died in the city’s custody in 2022, the highest number of deaths since 2013, and at least nine people died in 2023. The NY Daily News reported in mid-August that five people had died in custody this year. Norwood News asked NYC Department of Corrections (NYC DOC) to corroborate the latest figures but had not received a response as of press date.

 

At the rally, detainee advocates also called for an end to solitary confinement, citing Local Law 42, which was supposed to ban the policy under a set of rules that would govern how DOC should approach restrictive housing and the confinement of people in custody.

 

Back at the rally, Phillips said, “Do you know if solitary confinement had truly ended, many people who need access to medical would not have to worry when someone would have mercy on them and pass by their cells? They would know when Charizma Jones actually needed dire medical assistance,” said Phillips.

 

Restricted housing, segregated confinement, special housing units (SHU) and punitive confinement are just some of the terms used by some parties when discussing punitive measures for people held in custody, while others use the blanket term, solitary confinement.

The term “solitary confinement” under Local Law 42 means any placement of an incarcerated person in a cell, other than at night for sleeping for a period not to exceed eight hours in any 24-hour period or during the day for a count not to exceed two hours in any 24-hour period.

 

Adopted by the United Nations, the Nelson Mandela Rules define “segregated confinement for more than 15 days” as torture. Segregated or solitary confinement typically means people are locked in their cells for 20 to 24 hours a day, with no out-of-cell time and no physical interaction with other inmates.

 

New York City Council passed the Local Law 42 in December 2023. It was vetoed by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who, as reported, pleaded not guilty to federal bribery charges on Sept. 27, and has moved to dismiss the charges. The veto was subsequently overridden by the council, and the mayor later issued an emergency order to stop it from taking effect.

 

Norwood News reached out to both the mayor’s office at City Hall and the city council to ask what the latest status of the bill is. A city council representative replied, saying, “The mayor’s executive orders regarding DOC and Local Law 42 are renewed [on an] ongoing basis to continue suspending the law.”

 

The most recent executive orders suspending the law were dated Sept. 30.  The representative added, “The Council is continuing to consider our options to get Mayor Adams’ administration to comply with the law.”

Speakers at the rally also condemned NYC DOC for what they described as a “barbaric” practice of releasing individuals in custody before their deaths to avoid including their deaths in their in-custody records. They said Jones had been transferred from Rikers Island to a hospital where she later died. District 22 City Council Member Tiffany Cabán, who represents parts of Queens, including Rikers Island, spoke at the rally.

 

“What we saw in Charizma’s case is what we are not talking about, that gets buried, is that those deaths are actually a lot more common and a lot higher than we think, because instead of doing their jobs, this administration, this mayor, this department of corrections is spending the time, energy, and resources to bury deaths, to discharge people knowing that they are likely to lose their lives, so that the count isn’t part of the official Department of Corrections count,” said Cabán.

 

Rikers is scheduled to close in August 2027, and to be replaced with new city-based jails, with the Bronx County jail slated to open at the former Lincoln Hospital and NYPD compound at 745 East 141st Street. Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark told Norwood News, in part, in April 2023, “I supported it [the plan] for smaller jails, and I think it will be a good thing.” She added that she wasn’t necessarily happy, however, with the new Bronx jail location.

 

Clark said the new jail should be at the Bronx courthouse like they are in every other borough and that that way family members could [relatively easily] visit their detained family members both when they attend court, and while the family members are detained there, as opposed to having to travel further afield to see them. Other the other hand, some are not in favor of the smaller jails. Clark debated her Democratic primary opponent, Tess Cohen, in the lead up to the last district attorney primary election in June 2023 on the topic of alternatives to incarceration.

 

Meanwhile, Veronica Vela, a supervising attorney for The Legal Aid Society, told Norwood News at the rally that she sent a letter regarding Jones to NYC Board of Corrections on July 22, which read in part, “Ms. Jones’ medical records reflect an egregious denial of access to medical care by DOC staff in the weeks before her death.”

 

The letter continued, “The first admission began on or around April 28 and lasted until May 2 or May 3. Although Ms. Jones was on medical isolation during this first infirmary stay, medical staff were able to visit her, take her vital signs, and administer medication. But shortly after her second admission on May 4, DOC began to repeatedly interfere with medical staff’s efforts to evaluate Ms. Jones.”

 

The City publication reported that Anthony Jordan was seen by a medical professional a day before his death, before being sent back to his housing unit. It was reported that he too was rushed to a hospital prior to his death. The City publication reported that Jordan had been held on Rikers since April, awaiting trial for the alleged murder of his “longtime friend” Michael Smith, 47, inside an East Harlem apartment on March 17, 2024.

Helen Skipper, executive director of NYC Justice Peer Initiative, said, “At the end of the day, Rikers Island kills people. Not only does it kill people, it doesn’t provide anything. We’re not having a question about whether we need a system or not. We’re not talking about that. We’re talking about making sure that this system is humane.”

 

The New York State Commission of Correction and the NYC Board of Corrections, two oversight agencies, have launched investigations into NYC DOC’s handling of Jones while in custody.

 

Norwood News contacted NYC DOC both for comment on this story and for details of both Jordan’s and Jones’s deaths. Regarding Jordan’s death, a DOC spokesperson confirmed the death, along with Jordan’s name and age. A statement read in part, “The department notified the federal monitor, the State Attorney General’s office, the State Commission of Correction, the Department of Investigation, the Board of Correction, the district attorney, and the attorney of record.” DOC confirmed that Jordan’s next-of-kin had also been notified.

 

A further statement extract read, “At approximately 5:22 this morning [Aug. 20, we understand] a person in custody was transported from the North Infirmary Command to Mount Sinai Hospital in Queens. Sadly, the individual was pronounced deceased at 6:19 a.m. As with any death of a person in custody, the department will conduct a full investigation and will cooperate with all outside investigative entities.”

 

DOC Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie said, “On behalf of the New York City Department of Correction, we extend our deepest condolences to Mr. Jordan’s loved ones and wish them peace during this difficult time.” Regarding Jones’ death, the DOC spokesperson said the matter remained under investigation. We did not receive any additional comments on the story.

 

On Wednesday, Oct. 2, federal prosecutors charged Ghislaine Barrientos, a former NYC DOC correction officer, with conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and false statements as part of a scheme to smuggle narcotics into Rikers Island. Barrientos is presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

 

The mayor is also presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law. On Tuesday, Oct. 1, the mayor sought sanctions on federal prosecutors who charged him with bribery, alleging they leaked grand jury material and other sensitive information in “brazen violations” of the rules.

 

Meanwhile, Jones’ mother and grandmother attended the Foley Square rally. Her grandmother said, “We can’t express what we’re really feeling at this moment because it is too overwhelming. But one thing we want, we will not let my granddaughter’s death be in vain.”

 

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