Judge Rebukes New York City on Handling of Jails as Mayor Protests
Though Judge Swain’s comments do not necessarily mean she will strip the city of its authority, they emphasize the growing likelihood that it could at least lose some control over Rikers Island and its other jail facilities. On Tuesday, she ordered the city to inform the U.S. attorney’s office and others how it planned to fix some of the pressing issues within the jails.
Shortly after the judge’s order was made public, Mayor Adams delivered a strenuous defense of his management of the jails. He said that his administration would abide by the law, but he appeared frustrated and defiant at the idea that a takeover might be necessary.
“I am the best person in this administration to finally turn around the Department of Correction,” the mayor said during a news conference.
Mr. Adams, while voicing his respect for Mr. Williams, said that his administration had improved the jails and cited some approving comments that appeared in an April report to the judge from a federal monitor who oversees conditions at Rikers. Mr. Adams asked what had changed since then to suggest that the city should be stripped of its authority.
But the monitor, Steve J. Martin, has been clear in recent months about what has changed. In a series of recent reports, the first of them issued in May, Mr. Martin criticized Mr. Adams and his correction commissioner, Louis A. Molina, for hiding episodes of violence and negligence. These included a confrontation between correction officers and a detainee that left the detainee paralyzed and another incident, in which staff members left a detainee who was badly beaten by other inmates naked in a jail facility for hours.
Source: The New York Times
