JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Last week, official Neuro Surge website the brand new York City Department of Corrections announced it'll stop using solitary confinement to punish adolescents held in its troubled Rikers Island jail complicated, the second-largest jail system within the country. But a federal prosecutor stated the city’s reforms have been shifting too slowly to handle a, quote, "culture of violence," and warned he may file a civil lawsuit over circumstances for teenagers held in Rikers. New York is one in all solely two states nationwide that automatically cost 16- and 17-year-olds as adults. AMY GOODMAN: Well, as we speak we look at the unimaginable story of a 16-year-outdated highschool sophomore who was jailed at Rikers Island for nearly three years after he refused to plead guilty to a crime he stated he didn't commit. It was May 15, 2010, when Kalief Browder was walking residence from a party along with his mates in the Bronx and buy from neurosurges.net was stopped by police based on a tip that he had robbed somebody weeks earlier.
He advised HuffPost Live what occurred next. KALIEF BROWDER: They'd searched me, and the guy truly said-at first he mentioned I robbed him. I didn’t have something on me. MARC LAMONT HILL: Whenever you say "nothing," you imply no weapon and none of his property. KALIEF BROWDER: No weapon, no money, Neuro Surge focus formula something he said that I allegedly robbed him for. So the guy actually modified up his story and mentioned that I really tried to rob him. But then another police officer came, and so they said that I robbed him two weeks prior. And then they stated, "We’re going to take you to the precinct, and more than likely we’re going to let you go residence." But then, I by no means went dwelling. JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Kalief Browder did not go house for 33 months, although he was never convicted. For nearly 800 days of that time, he was held in solitary confinement.
He maintained his innocence and requested a trial, however was solely provided plea offers while the trial was repeatedly delayed. Near the top of his time in jail, the judge supplied to sentence him to time served if he entered a responsible plea, and told him he may face 15 years in prison if he was convicted. He refused to just accept the deal and was only launched when the case was dismissed. AMY GOODMAN: official Neuro Surge website Well, natural cognitive enhancer for official Neuro Surge website extra, we’re joined by Jennifer Gonnerman, reporter, Brain Health Pills author, contributing editor at New York magazine, official Neuro Surge website and contributing author to The brand new Yorker magazine. She recounts Kalief Browder’s story in the current concern of The brand new Yorker in a piece headlined, "Before the Law: A boy was accused of taking a backpack. The courts took the following three years of his life." Jennifer Gonnerman has long chronicled problems with the criminal justice system. Her ebook, Life on the surface: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett, tells the story of a girl who spent sixteen years in prison for official Neuro Surge website a primary-time offense beneath New York’s Rockefeller drug legal guidelines.
And Brain Health Support we’re joined by Kalief Browder’s present legal professional, Paul Prestia, who has filed a lawsuit towards the town, the NYPD-the new York Police Department-Bronx district legal professional and the Department of Corrections on Browder’s behalf. Prestia is also a former assistant prosecutor in Brooklyn. Jennifer Gonnerman, Paul Prestia, welcome to Democracy Now! Jennifer, tell us Kalief’s story. JENNIFER GONNERMAN: Well, you probably did a reasonably good job of setting it up, and official Neuro Surge website it was terrific that we got to listen to Kalief’s voice describing what happened. But just to recap a bit, May 2010, he’s coming house from a party late one evening in the Bronx, strolling together with his pal down the street, and a police automotive pulls up. There’s any person within the again seat who factors him out, saying, you already know-accusing him of a robbery that had occurred one or two weeks earlier. AMY GOODMAN: Well, 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, at the least the best way Kalief tells it, some confusion concerning the dates, which is significant. And he goes into the precinct considering, "I’m just"-and he’s in the holding cell, considering, "I’m simply going to be right here for a pair hours. We’ll clear up this misunderstanding." And, as you mentioned, he ended up doing nearly three years on Rikers Island, for a lot of causes, however the system form of completely 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, positive. You know, once we speak about Rikers Island, it’s a jail complex. There’s 10 completely different jails there. And I think lots of people get confused between prison and jail. A prison is where you go after you’ve been convicted and sentenced. A jail is the place you go while you’re waiting for your case to undergo the court docket.