Queens lawyers walk out to condemn Rikers conditions
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Members of the legal community gathered outside Queens Criminal Court Monday to protest the continuation of remand to Rikers. Eagle file photo by Rachel Vick
By Rachel Vick
A small group of public defenders, lawyers and criminal justice advocates walked out of Queens Criminal Court Monday as part of a citywide action to condemn prosecutors and judges who continue sending people to Rikers Island.
The Queens contingency stood on the steps for 12 minutes to honor the 12 people who have died while in custody this year, and call attention to the risks clients face with Rikers detention.
“While Rikers has never been a safe place for our clients, it is exceptionally lethal right now,” said Danielle Welch. “We still have prosecutors in that courtroom asking to send people to Rikers knowing full well [the risks].”
“It is infuriating that we have to say this; it honestly boggles the mind that you can read about people being asked to hold bags of their own waste and there are still people in the system more concerned with sending them to jail than with their lives,” she added. “If somebody doesn't come to court the worst thing that happens is the warrant squad has to go find them and the worst thing that can happen to them if we lock them up before they're ever convicted is they can die.”
Welch’s emphasis on the variety of issues facing detainees in Rikers facilities was echoed by fellow participants in the demonstration, who held signs with the names of the dead.
Lucy Herschel, a paralegal with 1199SEIU, said that in the more than 20 years of working in the New York City justice system “the conditions now are unlike anything I've ever been aware of.”
“The criminal justice system has revealed what incredible depths it will sink to in terms of denying people basic human rights,” Herschel said, calling judges' continued decisions to send people to the facilities “unconscionable and criminal.”
Current conditions on Rikers have been laid bare through City Council hearings, lawmaker visits, Board of Correction statements and federal monitor criticisms. A lapse in correction officer attendance resulting in staffing shortages and overworked officers compounded issues, creating lacking out of cell time and access to facilities.
Queens Criminal Court judges have been among the least likely to remand defendants, according to an analysis from Gothamist. Last year New York City’s judges held or set bail on 46% of defendants facing bail-eligible charges.
Office of Court Administration Spokesperson Lucien Chalfen said that the courts “are not a party to or responsible for New York City’s failures and the conditions on Rikers Island.”
“Unlike the Mayor, NYC Criminal Court Judges do not live in a parallel universe. However, crimes have victims and people have to be held accountable,” Chalfen said. “If a judge feels, and the new bail reform laws allow, that detention is appropriate, that doesn’t make it illegal or immoral. “
Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered the release of nearly 200 detainees held for parole violations and Mayor Bill de Blasio is pushing the courts to expedite hearings and trials to limit the number of individuals held in pre-trial detention, but advocates say it won’t be enough.
“There is a crisis happening,” said Tania Mattos, advocacy and policy director for Brooklyn Community Bail Fund and member of Court Watch NYC. “No jail is really a safe space for anybody, especially during COVID times. It is not over, we're still in it, and people continue to die, whether because of COVID or other reasons.”
