3 More Black Men Held Pre-Trial at Rikers Island Die in Less Than a Week at Barbaric, Raggedy Ass NYC Jail. Whom or What Can Dems Blame it on . . .Republicans, Guns?

THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE INMATE POPULATION OF THE JAIL COMPLEXES ON RIKERS ISLAND ARE 56% BLACK, 33% LATINX/HISPANIC, 7.5% WHITE, AND 3.5% MIXED RACE/OTHER WITH ROUGHLY 85% OF THE POPULATION IN PRE-TRIAL CONFINEMENT. ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE UNABLE TO PAY BAIL ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE REMANDED ON RIKERS ISLAND. ACCORDING TO A 2008 REPORT ON THE EDUCATIONAL EXPANSION ON RIKERS ISLAND ROUGHLY 80% OF INMATES DO NOT HOLD A GED, AND NEARLY ONE THIRD OF ALL 18 TO 21 YEAR OLD INMATES DO NOT READ PAST A 5TH GRADE LEVEL

From [DN] and [MORE] In New York City, three men who were recently held at the city-run Rikers Island jail complex have died in less than a week. The deaths are leading to new calls for control of the jail to be handed over to an outside body. Dr. Robert Cohen, who serves on the Board of Correction which oversees Rikers, said, “The City of New York, despite their best efforts, is not capable of maintaining a minimally safe environment for people in custody.” At least nine people have died so far this year after being held at Rikers.