Since Aug. 23, five people have died in the span of two weeks while in policy custody. These deaths spanned individuals who were held in police custody at local precincts and Rikers Island. The death of any detainee is unacceptable and should not become a pattern.
On May 13, a federal judge ordered the appointment of a remediation manager, who, according to The City, “will have broad powers and report directly to the court to enact long-stalled reforms on Rikers Island.” As of Sept. 15, that role has yet to be filled and Rikers continues to face deteriorating conditions and severe overcrowding.
There has also been little transparency about what specific powers this manager will hold and how quickly those reforms could realistically take effect. Without clarity and urgency, this appointment risks becoming another delay instead of real, meaningful change. Musa Cetin, a cab driver, was found hanged in a holding cell in a Midtown Manhattan precinct on Sept. 5. Cetin was taken into custody because he was missing a registration sticker for his pedicab.
In Brooklyn, Christopher Nieves was arrested for stealing from a Williamsburg Whole Foods. While awaiting arraignment at Kings County Criminal Court, he was found unconscious and was pronounced dead as soon as medical professionals arrived.
These deaths are uncommon occurrences at local police precincts but are far too regular at Rikers. Rikers is meant to serve as a temporary holding facility while those in custody wait to be transferred to prisons. Often, detainees who face petty offenses end up at Rikers for weeks or even months in an unsafe facility with cramped cells, often in isolation and at the mercy of negligent corrections officers.
The Department of Corrections has failed to prioritize the safety and health of detainees or to speed up case processing, despite being under city control for decades. Instead, the jail’s population has grown to inhumane levels, exposing more people to harm in a facility that was never intended for long-term stay.
According to the Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College, Black and Hispanic people make up the overwhelming majority of those incarcerated at Rikers — 56% of those incarcerated are Black, 33% are Hispanic and 7.5% are white.
Black and brown detainees are not only overrepresented but also held longer, leaving them more vulnerable to violence, neglect and death.
The city has repeatedly failed to act decisively regarding jail reform in New York City, and federal authorities continue to move at an incredibly slow pace. Transferring Rikers to federal receivership will not resolve the DOC’s systemic failures or the deeper issues of overcrowding and neglect.
Real reform requires accountability within the DOC, transparency from the federal government, faster case processing and steps to reduce the jail’s population immediately. Accelerating the complete closure of Rikers must remain a priority. At the end of the day, detainees are still people, are entitled to basic safety and humane treatment.
