Accused of Stealing a Backpack, High School Student Jailed for Nearly three Years without Trial
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Last week, the brand new York City Department of Corrections announced it'll cease utilizing solitary confinement to punish adolescents held in its troubled Rikers Island jail complicated, the second-largest jail system in 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 could file a civil lawsuit over circumstances for teenagers held in Rikers. New York is certainly one of only two states nationwide that routinely charge 16- and 17-yr-olds as adults. AMY GOODMAN: Well, at this time we look at the unimaginable story of a 16-12 months-old highschool sophomore who was jailed at Rikers Island for almost three years after he refused to plead guilty to a criminal offense he said he didn't commit. It was May 15, 2010, mind guard brain health supplement when Kalief Browder was walking house from a celebration along with his associates within the Bronx and was stopped by police based mostly on a tip that he had robbed someone weeks earlier.
He instructed HuffPost Live what occurred next. KALIEF BROWDER: They had searched me, and the guy actually said-at first he stated I robbed him. I didn’t have anything on me. MARC LAMONT HILL: While you say "nothing," you imply no weapon and none of his property. KALIEF BROWDER: No weapon, no cash, anything he stated that I allegedly robbed him for. So the man really changed up his story and stated that I truly tried to rob him. But then another police officer came, they usually 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 home." But then, I never went residence. JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Kalief Browder didn't go home 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 only provided plea deals while the trial was repeatedly delayed. Near the top of his time in jail, the decide offered to sentence him to time served if he entered a guilty plea, Mind Guard brain health and instructed him he may face 15 years in prison if he was convicted. He refused to accept the deal and was only released when the case was dismissed. AMY GOODMAN: Well, for extra, Mind Guard brain health we’re joined by Jennifer Gonnerman, reporter, writer, contributing editor at New York magazine, and contributing writer to The brand Mind Guard brain health new Yorker journal. She recounts Kalief Browder’s story in the present issue of The brand new Yorker in a bit headlined, "Before the Law: A boy was accused of taking a backpack. The courts took the subsequent three years of his life." Jennifer Gonnerman has long chronicled issues with the criminal justice system. Her ebook, Life on the skin: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett, tells the story of a woman who spent sixteen years in prison for Mind Guard brain health a first-time offense beneath New York’s Rockefeller drug laws.
And we’re joined by Kalief Browder’s current legal professional, Paul Prestia, who has filed a lawsuit towards the town, the NYPD-the brand Mind Guard brain health 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 fairly good job of setting it up, Mind Guard brain health and it was terrific that we received to hear Kalief’s voice describing what occurred. But just to recap a bit, May 2010, he’s coming home from a party late one night time in the Bronx, brain booster supplement support supplement walking together with his friend down the road, and a police automobile pulls up. There’s any person within the back seat who points him out, saying, you realize-accusing him of a robbery that had occurred one or two weeks earlier. AMY GOODMAN: Well, first, he truly says, "I didn’t steal anything tonight.
JENNIFER GONNERMAN: Right, proper. JENNIFER GONNERMAN: Right, so there was, from the start, it sounded like, no less than the way Kalief tells it, some confusion in regards to the dates, which is significant. And he goes into the precinct considering, "I’m just"-and he’s in the holding cell, thinking, "I’m simply going to be here for a couple hours. We’ll clear up this misunderstanding." And, as you mentioned, he ended up doing almost three years on Rikers Island, for a lot of reasons, however the system form of completely failed him in every possible way. There was no speedy trial. And during that point, he was locked up within the adolescent jail on Rikers Island. AMY GOODMAN: Explain Rikers. JENNIFER GONNERMAN: Sure, positive. You already know, when 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 where you go after you’ve been convicted and sentenced. A jail is where you go while you’re waiting to your case to go through the courtroom.