Another detainee in the custody of the city’s Department of Correction has died, bringing the total to five Rikers-related deaths since the year began and the second in this week.
This comes as a new report details long-standing failures by the DOC to comply with fire safety, sanitation and ventilation standards in city jails.
The court monitor that issued the report catalogued conditions from January to April of this year.
The Legal Aid Society says the DOC’s transparency and failure to comply with judicial orders has become even more problematic under Commissioner Louis Molina’s tenure.
In response, the DOC says the jail’s facilities are cleaned three times a day, and the department is working to boost its fire safety procedures.
Robert Quackenbush, a staff attorney with the Prisoners’ Rights Project at The Legal Aid Society, sat down with Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Friday to talk about the deteriorating conditions and what’s next for the troubled jail complex.
“A lack of funding is simply not an excuse for maintaining unconstitutional conditions. They need to come up with the money somewhere,” Quackenbush said. “If it means accelerating the close Rikers campaign, then that’s an option.”