United States: A federal judge on Tuesday will remove control of New York’s troubled Rikers Island jail complex from city officials and take control of it instead, appointing an independent official to run it, citing a decade of deteriorating violent and dangerous situations in the facility, as reported by Reuters.
Judge Cites Crisis Conditions at Rikers
In a 77-page decision, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan said she would appoint a “remediation manager” reporting to her, with broad powers to reform Rikers, including powers to change the jails’ rules, hire staff, and take disciplinary action against employees who break policies on the use of force.
“As the record in this case demonstrates, the current rates of use of force, stabbings and slashings, fights, assaults on staff, and in-custody deaths remain extraordinarily high, and there has been no substantial reduction in the risk of harm currently facing those who live and work in the Rikers Island jails,” Swain wrote.
Advocates Applaud Decision
Inmates involved in the case were represented by the law firm Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel and the Legal Aid Society, which released a statement saying, “This appointment marks a critical turning point — an overdue acknowledgment that city leadership has proven unable to protect the safety and constitutional rights of incarcerated individuals.”
⚖️🚨 Federal Judge Takes Control of Rikers Island Amid Violent Conditions
— PiQ (@PiQSuite) May 13, 2025
A U.S. judge removes control of Rikers Island from city officials, appointing an independent official to oversee reforms due to worsening violence and safety issues. This follows a series of incidents,… pic.twitter.com/gDRaQnXYVs
In an interview with reporters on Tuesday following an event, Mayor Eric Adams said that the issues at Rikers have been decades in the making and said that he has taken steps to help the complex, like appointing a new correction commissioner in 2023.
“I’m going to follow whatever rules she puts in place, because she has the authority to do so,” he said of Swain’s decision.
Tuesday’s ruling is six months since Swain ruled the city and its Department of Corrections in contempt of 18 provisions of court orders with the aim of helping to improve the violent conditions at the inmates’ and staff’s expense.
Under a consent decree, the city in 2015 agreed to a court-appointed monitor who would monitor Rikers and put out regular reports on its conditions as part of a class-action lawsuit settlement.
Alarming Stats Prompt Action
There were 6,784 cases of use of force at Rikers in 2023, a 48% increase from 4,652 in 2016, and 33 people died in custody since 2022, The New York Times reported, citing figures the judge cited in November.
🇺🇸 On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan ruled to strip New York City officials of control over the Rikers Island jail complex due to a decade of escalating violence and hazardous conditions.
— Vanguard Intel Group 🛡 (@vanguardintel) May 13, 2025
In a 77-page decision, she announced plans to appoint a… pic.twitter.com/5DAp2nuIbB
The jail held more than 6,000 prisoners as of mid-2023, about twenty percent of whom were afflicted by serious mental illness, found an investigation by the city comptroller’s office that year, as reported by Reuters.
Future of Rikers Still Uncertain
City council had already approved a plan to shut Rikers by 2027 and build four new city jails elsewhere, but the city currently fails to meet the deadline of constructing the new facilities.