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July 22, 2016

It May Take Years for Young Prisoners to Be Moved Out of Rikers Island
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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced Rikers Island will move
to stop housing adolescent inmates. The announcement comes three years
after an investigation by the U.S. Attorney General's Office deemed the
jail unfit for adolescents due to a "systemic culture of violence." It
could be years, however, before the move takes place. The mayor's plan
calls for the refurbishment of a facility for adolescents in the Bronx,
a process that is just beginning and still needs approval from the
city's Planning Commission. New York is one of two states in the U.S.
that charges 16- and 17-year-olds as adults. There are currently about
200 juvenile prisoners on Rikers Island.


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