Rikers Island still mired in violence as receivership looms
January 15, 2026
A federal monitor says violence, deaths and officer misconduct persist at Rikers, as a judge moves closer to appointing a receiver.
A federal monitor says violence, deaths and officer misconduct persist at Rikers, as a judge moves closer to appointing a receiver.
NY judges may be required to visit prisons annually to improve accountability, insight, and dialogue with incarcerated people.
Tami Eldridge, incarcerated for 25 years, seeks clemency from Gov. Hochul after rehabilitation, education, and raising a family in prison
NYC probes over 50 NYPD in-custody deaths since 2023. Advocates demand reforms, citing preventable tragedies and systemic failures.
The NYC DOC is being sued for illegally confining Rikers inmates, including disabled people, in solitary without proper medical care.
Leury Mojica was sentenced to 108 months for assaulting a correction officer and attempting to murder an inmate at Brooklyn’s MDC.
Carlos Cruz, 43, became the 12th person to die in NYC jails this year, found unresponsive at Rikers while awaiting transfer to state prison.
Jimmy Avila, 44, died on Rikers after under 24 hours in custody. Advocates call for an immediate, independent investigation into his death.
Two Rikers officers were slashed by a violent detainee, highlighting jail safety challenges and handling of high-risk inmates.
Three Rikers officers were suspended after inmate Ardit Billa was found dead, sparking calls for investigation and jail reform.
Rikers detainee Ardit Billa, 29, died in his cell. Three DOC staff were suspended as his death is under investigation.
Advocates demand answers after 29-year-old Ardit Billa died at Rikers, calling his death a tragic reminder of the jail’s ongoing crisis.
Over 100 groups urged NY to expand clemency and parole reforms, citing prison brutality, neglect, overcrowding and rising deaths in custody.
A new bill would require health clinics in courthouses after two detainees died in holding cells this year.
Judge D’Emic outlines NY’s judicial reforms to divert people with mental illness from jail into treatment through specialized courts.
A terminally ill detainee died in NYCDOC custody a day after his lawyer sought release. He was the 8th death in custody this year.
Two men died on Rikers Island Friday, raising 2025’s death toll to seven and intensifying scrutiny of the jail’s dangerous conditions.
Family of Messiah Nantwi sues DOCCS, alleging fatal beating, cover-up and systemic abuse at Mid-State Correctional Facility.
Detainees on Rikers Island have continued to struggle to get access to the jail complex’s law libraries, a new report found.
A prosecutor made offers to resolve criminal cases against 10 New York prison guards indicted in the beating to death of a handcuffed man.
THE NEW YORK STATE Department of Corrections and the NYS Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association,
The city’s jail watchdog board bashed Department of Correction leadership after the agency failed to tell them about a new housing unit.
Adams is only the latest elected official to enter City Hall with a promise to fix the jail complex on Rikers Island.
This story covers the lead up to the call for receivership, and part two will look at what the future of the jails on Rikers may look like.
Incarcerated individuals can pay for private health insurance coverage, but Medicaid is not available as an option for incarcerated people.
Federal agencies converged on Brooklyn’s MDC, conducting a coordinated raid aimed at persistent security issues and dangerous conditions.
Late answer in a property dispute, disputes over serious injuries, a foreclosure’s defective dismissal order, and an inmate negligence claim.
Brooklyn Defender Services issued a statement on Tuesday that criticized the New York City Department of Correction .
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for EDNY announced federal charges against nine inmates at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.
The Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn has stopped accepting inmates, marking a significant shift in policy.
The Legal Aid Society and Brooklyn Defender Services filed a motion in court accusing the NYC DOC of denying inmates access to medical care.
New York City’s mayor issued an emergency order Saturday suspending parts of a new law intended to ban solitary confinement in local jails a day before it was to take effect, citing
On June 29, the Major R. Owens Health & Wellness Community Center in Brooklyn will host a free sports camp for children of incarcerated parents, organized by Prison Fellowship. The
Kenneth Williams spent his whole life in Brooklyn, but it wasn’t until a night in 2018 when he crossed a narrow footbridge in shackles, that he learned about New York
Two former New York City jail guards have avoided prison time for what authorities called their failure to intervene in a teenage inmate’s suicide attempt for nearly eight minutes until
In response to the recent New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) report regarding the improper recording of attorney-client phone calls in city jails, a coalition of New York City