August 4, 2014 Press Conference - Rikers Island

August 4, 2014 Press Conference - Rikers Island

NEW YORK, NY - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara announce the completion of a multi-year civil investigation pursuant to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act into the conditions of confinement of adolescent male inmates on Rikers Island. The investigation, which focused on use of force by staff, inmate-on-inmate violence, and use of punitive segregation during the period 2011-2013, concluded that there is a pattern and practice of conduct at Rikers Island that violates the rights of adolescents protected by the Eighth Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The investigation found that adolescent inmates are not adequately protected from physical harm due to the rampant use of unnecessary and excessive force by New York City Department of Correction staff and violence inflicted by other inmates. In addition, the investigation found that the New York City Department of Correction relies too heavily on punitive segregation as a disciplinary measure, placing adolescent inmates in what amounts to solitary confinement at an alarming rate and for excessive periods of time. Many of the adolescent inmates are particularly vulnerable because they suffer from mental illness.