Federal monitor calls for ‘significant revisions’ to solitary ban

Federal monitor calls for ‘significant revisions’ to solitary ban

The federal monitor charged with keeping track of violent conditions on Rikers Island said that he and his team disapprove of the City Council’s ban on solitary confinement, which the legislative body passed with a veto-proof majority at the tail end of last year’s legislative session. 

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Rikers monitor says relationship with DOC has ‘eroded’

Rikers monitor says relationship with DOC has ‘eroded’

With his days as Department of Correction commission numbered, Louis Molina was given a scathing review by the federal monitor charged with keeping track of violence on Rikers Island.

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Month after ‘promotion,’ Molina remains DOC boss

Month after ‘promotion,’ Molina remains DOC boss

City Hall said Louis Molina would move from Department of Correction commissioner to assistant deputy mayor in “mid-November.” But in a sworn affidavit this week, Molina said he remains in charge of the agency, and doesn’t know when a successor will be named.

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Legal Aid officially files for federal takeover of Rikers Island

Legal Aid officially files for federal takeover of Rikers Island

Attorneys with the Legal Aid Society and prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York officially asked a federal judge on Friday to strip the city of its control over Rikers Island and hand the jail complex over to a federal authority.

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Monitor says Rikers is getting worse as detainee becomes 9th to die this year

Monitor says Rikers is getting worse as detainee becomes 9th to die this year

On the same day a 27-year-old man became the ninth person to die in Department of Correction custody this year, the federal monitor tracking conditions on Rikers Island said reforming the notorious jail complex is a prospect that is “falling even further out of reach.”

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Rikers receivership process may begin as soon as late summer, judge says

Rikers receivership process may begin as soon as late summer, judge says

A federal judge said Tuesday that her confidence in the Department of Correction’s ability and commitment to reform troubled Rikers Island has been “shaken” and that she’s open to hearing arguments about why the jail should be handed over to a federal receiver.

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