From the reinstatement of solitary confinement, shortages of staff, and COVID-19 outbreaks, the conditions of Rikers Island have been a point of ongoing debate in New York. Earlier this month, about 200 male inmates went on a hunger strike to protest the poor conditions of the jail.
According to the New York Post, as President Biden is due to visit New York later in the week, a note circulating amongst the inmates is calling for an even bigger demonstration.
The unknown author has accused the Department of Corrections of “messing with our mail, visits, recreation, medical, law library, commissary, living conditions.”
“All gangsters, gentlemen and stand up individuals, the courts and DOC are violating us every day, and our families are suffering for it as well,” reads the letter, which sources said was distributed in food carts to inmates at Rikers’ Robert N. Davoren Complex.
“Courts are violating due process rights, giving us ransoms insted of bails [sic]!” the letter obtained by The Post reads. “What happen [sic] to bail reform?”
Public defenders have also called on President Biden to make a visit to the prison and witness the “unmitigated humanitarian crisis” firsthand. A joint statement from various organizations such as the Legal Aid Society and the Bronx Defenders added this:
“Biden’s visit to New York City is an opportunity for this nation’s leader to witness firsthand the horrendous conditions New Yorkers endure each day on Rikers Island — conditions that should serve as a reminder of why incarceration is not a panacea for public safety concerns,”
The letter’s author is aware that the Presidential visit is an opportunity to draw more attention to the conditions the inmates face every day. Thus, they are calling for an even bigger hunger strike than the prior one.
“This time we need everyone to make this count!” the letter says. “Lawyers are trying to get Biden to the Island, let’s do our part! (If we peacefully protest) like Martin Luther King, or Gandhi [sic].