JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Last week, the brand new York City Department of Corrections introduced it's going to stop using solitary confinement to punish adolescents held in its troubled Rikers Island jail complicated, the second-largest jail system within the nation. But a federal prosecutor mentioned the city’s reforms have been transferring too slowly to handle a, quote, "culture of violence," and warned he could file a civil lawsuit over conditions for teenagers held in Rikers. New York is certainly one of solely two states nationwide that mechanically cost 16- and 17-yr-olds as adults. AMY GOODMAN: Well, at this time we glance at the unimaginable story of a 16-12 months-old highschool sophomore who was jailed at Rikers Island Alpha Brain Focus Gummies Brain Supplement for almost three years after he refused to plead guilty to a crime he mentioned he didn't commit. It was May 15, 2010, when Kalief Browder was strolling residence from a get together along with his buddies within the Bronx and was stopped by police primarily based on a tip that he had robbed someone weeks earlier.
He informed HuffPost Live what occurred next. KALIEF BROWDER: They'd searched me, and the guy actually stated-at first he said I robbed him. I didn’t have anything on me. MARC LAMONT HILL: If you say "nothing," you mean no weapon and none of his property. KALIEF BROWDER: No weapon, no cash, something he said that I allegedly robbed him for. So the man truly changed up his story and said that I really tried to rob him. But then another police officer got here, they usually said that I robbed him two weeks prior. After which they said, "We’re going to take you to the precinct, and almost definitely we’re going to allow you to go home." But then, Alpha Brain Health Gummies I by no means went dwelling. JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Kalief Browder didn't go house for 33 months, regardless that he was by no means convicted. For nearly 800 days of that point, he was held in solitary confinement.
He maintained his innocence and requested a trial, however was solely supplied plea deals while the trial was repeatedly delayed. Near the top of his time in jail, the judge provided to sentence him to time served if he entered a guilty plea, and instructed him he might face 15 years in prison if he was convicted. He refused to simply accept the deal and was only launched when the case was dismissed. AMY GOODMAN: Well, for more, we’re joined by Jennifer Gonnerman, reporter, writer, Alpha Brain Health Gummies contributing editor at New York magazine, and contributing writer to The brand new Yorker journal. She recounts Kalief Browder’s story in the current situation of The new Yorker in a chunk headlined, "Before the Law: A boy was accused of taking a backpack. The courts took the following three years of his life." Jennifer Gonnerman has long chronicled problems with the criminal justice system. Her ebook, Life on the skin: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett, tells the story of a woman who spent 16 years in prison for a first-time offense under New York’s Rockefeller drug legal guidelines.
And we’re joined by Kalief Browder’s current legal professional, Paul Prestia, who has filed a lawsuit towards town, Alpha Brain Gummies Alpha Brain Gummies Wellness Gummies the NYPD-the new York Police Department-Bronx district legal professional and the Department of Corrections on Browder’s behalf. Prestia is also a former assistant prosecutor in Brooklyn. Jennifer Gonnerman, Paul Prestia, welcome to Democracy Now! Jennifer, inform us Kalief’s story. JENNIFER GONNERMAN: Well, you did a reasonably good job of setting it up, and it was terrific that we acquired to listen to Kalief’s voice describing what happened. But simply to recap a bit, May 2010, he’s coming dwelling from a celebration late one night time within the Bronx, walking with his friend down the street, and a police automotive pulls up. There’s any person within the back seat who points him out, saying, you already know-accusing him of a robbery that had happened one or two weeks earlier. AMY GOODMAN: Well, first, he actually says, "I didn’t steal something tonight.
JENNIFER GONNERMAN: Right, right. JENNIFER GONNERMAN: Right, so there was, from the start, it sounded like, not less than the best way Kalief tells it, some confusion concerning the dates, which is critical. And he goes into the precinct thinking, "I’m just"-and he’s in the holding cell, pondering, "I’m simply going to be right here for a couple hours. We’ll clear up this misunderstanding." And, as you mentioned, he ended up doing nearly three years on Rikers Island, for many causes, however the system form of fully failed him in each potential method. There was no speedy trial. And through that point, he was locked up within the adolescent jail on Rikers Island. AMY GOODMAN: Explain Rikers. JENNIFER GONNERMAN: Sure, positive. You recognize, when we talk about Rikers Island, it’s a jail advanced. There’s 10 completely different jails there. And I believe lots of people get confused between prison and jail. A prison is the place you go after you’ve been convicted and sentenced. A jail is the place you go while you’re waiting in your case to undergo the court docket.