JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Last week, the new York City Department of Corrections announced it should stop utilizing solitary confinement to punish adolescents held in its troubled Rikers Island jail advanced, the second-largest jail system within the country. But a federal prosecutor said the city’s reforms have been shifting too slowly to deal with a, quote, "culture of violence," and warned he might file a civil lawsuit over circumstances for teenagers held in Rikers. New York is one in every of only two states nationwide that robotically charge 16- and 17-12 months-olds as adults. AMY GOODMAN: Well, today we look on the unbelievable story of a 16-12 months-outdated high school sophomore who was jailed at Rikers Island for practically three years after he refused to plead responsible to a crime he said he didn't commit. It was May 15, 2010, when Kalief Browder was strolling residence from a party with his buddies in the Bronx and was stopped by police based on a tip that he had robbed someone weeks earlier.
He instructed HuffPost Live what happened subsequent. KALIEF BROWDER: That they had searched me, and Alpha Brain Clarity Supplement the guy actually said-at first he mentioned I robbed him. I didn’t have something on me. MARC LAMONT HILL: If you say "nothing," you imply no weapon and none of his property. KALIEF BROWDER: No weapon, no money, something he stated that I allegedly robbed him for. So the guy really modified up his story and mentioned that I actually tried to rob him. But then another police officer came, they usually mentioned that I robbed him two weeks prior. After which they said, "We’re going to take you to the precinct, and more than likely we’re going to let you go house." But then, I by no means went dwelling. JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Kalief Browder didn't go residence for 33 months, though he was never convicted. For almost 800 days of that time, he was held in solitary confinement.
He maintained his innocence and requested a trial, however was only offered plea deals whereas the trial was repeatedly delayed. Near the tip of his time in jail, the choose offered to sentence him to time served if he entered a guilty plea, and informed him he may face 15 years in prison if he was convicted. He refused to just accept the deal and was solely released when the case was dismissed. AMY GOODMAN: Well, for more, Alpha Brain Cognitive Support we’re joined by Jennifer Gonnerman, reporter, creator, contributing editor at New York magazine, and contributing writer to The new Yorker journal. She recounts Kalief Browder’s story in the current difficulty of The new Yorker in a bit headlined, "Before the Law: A boy was accused of taking a backpack. The courts took the next three years of his life." Jennifer Gonnerman has long chronicled issues with the criminal justice system. Her book, 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 below New York’s Rockefeller drug legal guidelines.
And we’re joined by Kalief Browder’s present lawyer, Paul Prestia, who has filed a lawsuit in opposition to the town, the NYPD-the new York Police Department-Bronx district attorney and the Department of Corrections on Browder’s behalf. Prestia can also be a former assistant prosecutor in Brooklyn. Jennifer Gonnerman, Paul Prestia, welcome to Democracy Now! Jennifer, tell us Kalief’s story. JENNIFER GONNERMAN: Well, you did a pretty good job of setting it up, and Alpha Brain Gummies it was terrific that we received to listen to Kalief’s voice describing what happened. But just to recap a bit, May 2010, he’s coming house from a celebration late one evening within the Bronx, walking together with his pal down the street, and a police automotive pulls up. There’s anyone within the again seat who factors him out, saying, you realize-accusing him of a robbery that had occurred one or two weeks earlier. AMY GOODMAN: Well, Alpha Brain Wellness Gummies Alpha Brain Wellness Gummies Alpha Brain Wellness Gummies first, he really says, "I didn’t steal something tonight.
JENNIFER GONNERMAN: Right, proper. JENNIFER GONNERMAN: Right, so there was, from the start, it sounded like, not less than the way in which Kalief tells it, some confusion concerning the dates, which is important. And he goes into the precinct thinking, "I’m just"-and he’s within the holding cell, pondering, "I’m just going to be right here for a couple hours. We’ll clear up this misunderstanding." And, as you mentioned, he ended up doing virtually three years on Rikers Island, for a lot of reasons, however the system type of utterly failed him in each potential way. 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, sure. You realize, once we speak about Rikers Island, it’s a jail complicated. There’s 10 totally different jails there. And I feel a lot 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 where you go whereas you’re ready on your case to undergo the courtroom.