New York Approves Closure Of Notorious Rikers Island Jail
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published October 18, 2019 | 09:40 AM
New York, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Oct, 2019 ) :New York officials on Thursday approved a multi-billion-dollar plan to close the city's notorious Rikers Island prison and replace the sprawling complex with smaller jails.
Rikers is one of America's most high-profile prisons and has incarcerated celebrities including Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols, rapper Tupac Shakur and former International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Lawyers and criminologists have been calling for the jail's closure for years, citing its age and regular violent incidents against inmates and guards that are blamed in part on its remote location, which makes family visits difficult.
On Thursday, New York's city council voted in favor of Mayor Bill de Blasio's $8.7-billion proposal to close Rikers by 2026 and replace it with four smaller facilities dotted around the US financial capital.
"The era of mass incarceration is over," de Blasio told reporters afterwards.
"This action today is about valuing our people, no longer sending them on a pathway that only made their lives worse and worse," he added.
De Blasio unveiled plans to shut Rikers -- which consists of nine facilities and is located on an island on the East River between the city's Queens and Bronx boroughs -- in 2017.
His administration argues that four new prisons to be built in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx will be more humane, safer and easier for relatives of inmates to visit.
Officials say they will help prisoners better reintegrate into the community once they have completed their sentences.
While there is widespread agreement that Rikers should be closed, de Blasio has faced considerable criticism for wanting to build the new prisons and several protesters disrupted Thursday's vote.
The plan has faced considerable opposition mainly from New Yorkers who do not want a prison built near their homes.
Other critics say the money would be better spent on fighting the causes of crime.
Rikers Island is one of the most recognizable of US prison Names, together with Sing Sing, located in Ossining in New York state, San Quentin in California and ADX in Colorado, a so-called "supermax" prison nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the Rockies."The number of inmates at Rikers has fallen from around 20,000 in the 1990s to around 8,000.
Recent Stories
President Biden writes letter to PM Shehbaz, expresses best wishes for newly ele ..
Interior Minister visits FC headquarters Peshawar
One dies, 28 injured after passenger bus overturned
US Fed's favored inflation gauge ticks higher as fuel costs rise
IESCO notifies 2-day power suspension programme
Posters and logos exhibition held at SABS University
Ramazan Package enhanced from 7.5 billion to 12.5 billion rupees: Finance Minist ..
ICCI, CDA sign MoU for upgrading, maintaining public washrooms
Provincial minister attends solar product launch
Finance minister calls for fiscal discipline by reducing operational expenditure
Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb holds meeting with SBP Gover ..
UHS declares MBBS first prof, MS urology exam results
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
Shaheed Jalil Andrabi remembered on his martyrdom anniversary
2 days ago -
Architectural grandeur of Mohabat Khan Mosque attracts visitors, archeology lovers
2 days ago -
Besant Hall cultural centre to hold programme in memory Pir Hassam din Rashdi
4 days ago -
USA beats Mexico 2-0 for CONCACAF Nations League title
4 days ago -
World urged to intervene for peace in Kashmir
5 days ago -
Undeterred resolve – only way to end economic woes
5 days ago
-
Organic Food: A booming trend in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
5 days ago -
From Soil to Harvest: Use of modern technology vital for agricultural renaissance
5 days ago -
Spring season offers glimpse into GB's natural beauty, cultural heritage
5 days ago -
Nation to mark decades’ long journey of resilience through annals of history
7 days ago -
23rd March: A historic day reminds Muslims’ heroic struggle for Pakistan
7 days ago -
Measures urged to recharge depleting water table: Experts
7 days ago