The City Council is considering a measure that would bar the Department of Correction from monitoring detainees' calls.
The practice dates back to 2008 and effectively gives the DOC the ability to record and retain calls made by incarcerated individuals for a period of 18 months.
The DOC argues the law has helped make jails safer, but a new lawsuit alleges this practice violates the civil rights of detainees.
If this bill were to pass, the DOC would have to either obtain a warrant, or get the consent of a person on a call in order to record it.
Twyla Carter, the first Black woman to serve as CEO of the Legal Aid Society, sat down with Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Thursday to talk about the future of Rikers Island.
“When you are incarcerated, you still have the right to all of the constitutional protections that are afforded to you,” Carter said.