Break the Prison to Poverty Pipeline

Break the Prison to Poverty Pipeline

By Clio Chang / USNews.com

The New York City Department of Corrections has decided to eliminate solitary confinement for inmates aged 16 and 17 by the end of the year. This resolution is a response to public criticism of abusive conditions at Rikers Island, which houses more than 12,000 of the city’s inmates.

The jail made headlines this summer after the federal government released a report stating that the city was violating inmates’ civil rights. Stories of abuse have been as numerous as they have been bleak — an inmate beaten for falling asleep in class, a culture of distorting data on violence, and a 16-year-old boy who, accused of stealing a backpack, waited three years for a trial that never happened.

Preet Bharara, New York’s federal prosecutor, states he is ready to pursue legal action against the city if it does not achieve reform soon.

Eliminating solitary confinement is one of the more concrete improvements that Correctional Commissioner Joseph Ponte outlined in his recent memo to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Other changes include an expansion of educational programs and a better ratio of guards to adolescent inmates.

The fight for “Rikers Reform” is important for the welfare of inmates behind that particular set of bars, but it also shines a light on the issue of the other 7 million people under correctional control in America. The way we treat prisoners while they are locked up, after all, directly affects how they fare when they re-enter society.

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