Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2020

Abstract

Over the last decade, long before the sweeping impact of COVID-19, the criminal legal system in New York City has been on a halting path toward decarceration. Set against the national backdrop of declining crime rates and a reckoning with the economic, social, and racial costs of mass criminalization and incarceration, elected officials in New York City and State have acknowledged that a shift toward reducing the number of people held in New York City jails is long overdue. Particular attention has been focused on Rikers Island, the notoriously violent, sprawling jail complex, which has been regarded as one of the most visibly troubling aspects of the administration of criminal “justice” in New York City. With its reputation for corruption, violence, and human rights abuses, Rikers has become the final resting place for New York City’s failed social welfare and criminal legal systems. Former New York State Court of Appeals Chief Justice Jonathan Lippman has called Rikers Island “a stain on the soul of New York City.”

This Article examines how the City’s broader decarceration agenda can be informed by the lessons learned from efforts to rapidly depopulate Rikers Island during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak. It argues that long term decarceration in New York City will not be realized without meaningful investments in necessary social supports and a willingness to shift away from outmoded conceptions of public safety. The economic instability brought about by COVID-19 undoubtedly make these financial and ideological changes all the more necessary and complex. Part I provides a brief overview of the pre-COVID-19 approach to decarceration in New York City. Part II details how various institutional actors responded to the need to accelerate the release of people detained at Rikers Island during the height of the pandemic. It highlights the often-regressive character of decision-making by police, prosecutors, courts, and government agencies during the pandemic. Part III argues that critical insights gained during the systemic response to the initial COVID-19 outbreak should inform ongoing decarceration efforts in New York City. It contends that the City’s COVID-19 response shows that many institutional actors across the City are only willing to do the bare minimum in achieving decarceration, even when the lives of detained people and City employees are at stake. This Article proposes movement away from deeply entrenched, punitive practices and policies and more expansive investment in non-carceral services and institutions for a meaningful, long-term decarceral agenda.

Disciplines

Health Law and Policy | Law | Law Enforcement and Corrections

Comments

This article was initially published in Volume 48 of the Fordham Urban Law Journal and is republished with permission.

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