Rikers Island: The Failure of a "Model" Penitentiary. (December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mooney, Jayne; Shanahan, Jarrod
• Is Part Of: Prison journal. Volume 100:Number 6(2020)
• Page Start: 687
• Page End: 708
• Publication Date: 2020-12
• Subjects: Rikers Island -- penitentiaries -- prisons -- jails -- New York City -- penal reform; Prisons -- Periodicals; Prisons -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 365.6
• DOI: 10.1177/0032885520968238
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0032-8855

Abstract

New York City's Rikers jail complex is gripped by a crisis of legitimacy. Following a series of investigations, it has been denounced as a major symbol of criminal justice dysfunction, with calls for its closure and replacement with new smaller "state of the art" jails. Yet, when it opened, Rikers was hailed as a "model" facility, at the cutting edge of prison design and prisoner rehabilitation. To elucidate the present situation, we provide a focus on the under-explored history of New York City's penal institutions.