“For years, we have seen New York City’s jails plunge deeper and deeper into an abyss of chaos and cruelty, yet what we have witnessed in the past two years has been alarming beyond measure,” said a statement issued by the five local public defender organizations. “DOC’s increasingly pervasive culture of hostility and aggression has inflicted outrageous violence, suffering, and neglect on the people we represent. 

“The severity and urgency of the crisis in NYC jails requires the appointment of a receiver. Given the experiences of the people we represent, no lesser remedy is appropriate.”

The brief, a collaborative effort with the Bronx Defenders, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, New York County Defender Services and Queens Defenders, with NYU School of Law’s Civil Rights in the Criminal Legal System Clinic, paints a bleak picture of life behind bars in New York City. Despite a decree issued eight years ago mandating reforms, the jails have instead spiraled further into turmoil, with rampant excessive force and inhumane conditions, they said.

“To understand the full scope of the harm endured by people in New York City jails, it is important to understand the full emotional and psychological cost of DOC’s inability to comply with its obligations to keep people safe,” the brief said. 

Drawing on their unique perspective and experiences, the defenders describe the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Department of Correction (DOC) facilities. They detail the DOC’s pervasive culture of hostility and aggression, which has resulted in extreme violence, suffering, and neglect. The brief recounts specific instances of incarcerated individuals suffering considerable physical and psychological harm due to the chaotic and dysfunctional environment in the jails.

The defenders argue that the DOC has proven incapable of protecting the people in its custody and their constitutional rights or implementing the necessary reforms. They assert that the severity of the crisis requires the appointment of a receiver, as no lesser measure would be sufficient. The brief emphasizes the immediate and grave threats faced by incarcerated individuals, including rampant assaults and neglect, particularly of those with serious mental health issues. 

It also highlights the long-term psychological and physical impact on those incarcerated, including exacerbated mental illness and increased difficulties in securing just outcomes in their criminal cases.

“There is no question that DOC is unwilling and unable to protect the people in its custody and their constitutional rights, or to undertake the reforms needed to comply with core provisions of the Consent Decree and other court-ordered relief,” the brief said.