Judge rules NYC is in contempt over jail violence, moves Rikers Island closer to federal takeover
NEW YORK -- A judge's scathing ruling Wednesday moves New York City's troubled Rikers Island jail complex a step closer to a federal takeover.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain found the city and the Department of Correction in civil contempt over 18 separate claims of failing to rectify use of force and safety issues.
A 2012 lawsuit against the DOC led to a settlement that required sweeping reforms, which Swain described as happening at a "glacial pace."
"The court is inclined to impose a receivership: namely, a remedy that will make the management of the use of force and safety aspects of the Rikers Island jails ultimately answerable directly to the court," Swain said.
Swain noted in the nine years since the settlement, the city and the department have failed to comply with provisions of several court orders related to implementing a force directive and holding staff accountable. Swain ordered the city to meet with a court-appointed monitor to go over the framework of federal receivership of the jail.
Swain ordered the city and attorneys suing the city to provide her with a plan for receivership by Jan. 14.
Reaction to judge's ruling
Mayor Eric Adams, who has opposed such a takeover, insisted his new commissioner is making headway, but acknowledged more needs to be done.
"We are proud of our work, but recognize there is more to be done and look forward to working with the federal monitoring team on our shared goal of continuing to improved the safety of everyone in our jails," Adams said in a statement.
The Legal Aid Society responded to her ruling with a statement, calling it an "historic decision."
"The court's recognition that the current structure has failed, and that receivership free from political and other external influences is the path forward, can ensure that all New Yorkers, regardless of incarceration status, are treated with the respect and dignity guaranteed to them under the law," the statement read in part.
"With this contempt ruling today, the federal court made loud and clear that the status quo cannot continue and that radical reform is necessary," said Mary Lynne Werlwas, director of the Prisoners' Rights Project at the Legal Aid Society. "The court was very clear that reform will lie in the hands of a person who is politically independent, not accountable to City Hall, but accountable only to the federal court."
The union representing correction officers took issue with the ruling.
"Today's ruling by Judge Swain was largely based on the false and erroneous narrative promulgated by the Federal Monitor, who continues to misrepresent the root cause of increased violence in our jails. The judge is flat out wrong to assert that our workforce is overstaffed. In fact, we are down to approximately 5,000 Correction Officers from over 9,000 Correction Officers from just four years ago, all while our inmate population, which is around 6,700, is the highest its been in years. We have been defunded, short staffed, scapegoated and handcuffed by the New York City Council and Federal Monitor, which have ignored every proposal we've made to keep our jails safe for everyone," Correction Officers' Benevolent Association president Benny Boscio said. "Seventy percent of our inmate population is facing violent felony charges and that same population is driving the hundreds of assaults on our officers, including sexual assaults, as well as inmate on inmate attacks, which requires necessary, not excessive force, to keep everyone in our jails safe. Outsourcing control of Rikers Island to a federal receiver, will not be a silver bullet and will not solve any of these problems. Giving correction officers the manpower and resources to enforce law and order in our jails will."
Longstanding issues at Rikers Island
The news comes a day after Harvey Weinstein's lawyers filed a claim against the city, saying he is being subjected to unhygienic conditions and substandard medical treatment at the jail complex.
Earlier this year, the city reached a more than $28 million settlement with Madeline Feliciano, whose 18-year-old grandson suffered brain damage after he tried to hang himself in custody in 2019.
"Rikers Island needs to be shut down. No human being should go through what my grandson is going through," Feliciano said this spring.
Rikers is scheduled to close in August 2027 but it's unlikely, in part because the community jails that are supposed to replace it won't be ready in time, and because they are only supposed to hold about 4,000 of the more than 6,000 people currently at the complex.
Adams inherited the longstanding issues, along with the plan to close the jail. Last year, he appointed Lynelle Maginley-Liddie to lead the correction department, in hopes of staving off a receivership.
"Show me a successful receivership in the country. Show me where someone has come in and they have taken over and they've fixed the systems. And so we're saying to everyone that's involved, we want the challenge," Adams said at the time.
CBS News New York reached out to the City Law Department and the mayor's office for a response.