The New York City Council decided yesterday. More than eight billion dollars is being made available to build four new prisons. The prison island is turning into public land.
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Poor living conditions
Now there are still 7000 people incarcerated on the island, which has a total of nine prisons. In the 1980s and 1990s, there were even 20,000 inmates in prison and the prison was regularly the site of stabbings and assaults.
Today the living conditions of the prisoners have improved considerably. For example, the number of prisoners in one cell fell from thirty to ten. But there is still a lot wrong.
‘Close once and for all’
“Rikers Island is a symbol of cruelty and inhumanity and it is time for us to shut down the island once and for all,” said City Council Chair Corey Johnson of the decision.
Other local politicians said they were happy that “the island where prisoners are treated like animals is finally coming to an end”.
Known prisoners
Artists Tupac Shakur, DMX and Lil’ Wayne were imprisoned on the island. The murderer of John Lennon was also briefly detained there and former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn stayed there for a few days. Well-known prisoners were often given their own cell, because otherwise they would be attacked by others.
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