2 minute read
WHAT MUVS YOU?
YOU ARE ENOUGH. FREEDOM AGENDA
BY NICOLE HEROUX WILLIAMS I PHOTOS BY NSP STUDIO BY MARION RODRIGUEZ
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Freedom Agenda is a member-led project dedicated to organizing people and communities directly impacted by incarceration to achieve decarceration and system transformation. As an active member of Freedom Agenda I attend monthly meetings as an advocate for change with the Close Rikers campaign. I will continue to do all I can to educate and empower people because NYC will be a better place without Rikers. For more information on the Campaign to Close Rikers visit www. campaigntocloserikers.org. To learn more about the Renewable Rikers plan visit www.renewablerikers.org
Through the leadership of people most impacted by mass criminalization Freedom Agenda members advocate for decarceration and for investments in communities that are too often disrupted by systems of punishment. Get Involved - Freedom Agenda (urbanjustice.org) Rikers Island is New York City’s sprawling eight-jail complex and the most extensive (and expensive) jail system in the country. At Rikers Island nearly 90% of people held there are presumed innocent and awaiting sentencing. Many simply cannot afford bail. Court delays cause additional hardship.
People are not receiving life-saving medications or adequate health care while in custody. Mayor Eric Adams and his administration should work with judges and attorneys to keep people from being detained on Rikers, instead diverting them to programs that address their underlying needs
A jail sentence should not equal a death sentence. There have been 30 deaths in custody since 2021. It is a well-documented humanitarian disaster, yet judges and prosecutors
continue to send people there to await trial. People who have experienced Rikers Island jails call it a torture chamber, where everything is designed to dehumanize and degrade. Human beings, while detained, deserve dignity and respect. They are our loved ones, neighbors, co-workers and friends and they will return to our communities. We have a moral obligation to care about conditions of confinement. It is a stain on our humanity. NYC must deliver on closing Rikers Island jail and invest in non-carceral public safety solutions.
Fortunately, there is already a plan in place to close Rikers that was envisioned and fought for by formerly incarcerated people and family members, with the support of faith leaders, service providers, community organizations, and other allies. This plan was passed by the Mayor and City Council in October 2019, after extensive community input.
Now is the time to recommit to this plan, and to go further – to strengthen and accelerate it. Here, we outline specific, actionable ways to fulfill our complete vision of closing Rikers, from Jail Closure to Decarceration, Defending the Rights of Incarcerated People, and Divestment & Redistribution.
The vision for eradicating Rikers and what it represents came from those most impacted by mass incarceration, but the moral responsibility for getting it done lies with all of us - and especially those who have been entrusted with elected office. https://fa.urbanjustice.org/wpcontent/uploads/sites/22/2022/01/ How-to-Advance-and-Strengthenthe-Plan-to-Close-Rikers-InteractiveFor-Digital-01.06.2022.pdf
