22 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 9, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Advocates demand mayor reduce Rikers population
BY DEAN MOSES
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Rikers Island has become a death
sentence rather than a detention facility,
criminal justice advocates charged
Tuesday, Aug. 31.
Over the course of nine months, fi ve
individuals have died while in the custody
of Rikers Island. Activists and families
of the dead prisoners are left to wonder
what’s happening on the penal island to
cause so many custodial deaths.
Th e most recent death
happened on Aug. 30,
when Segundo Guallpa,
an incarcerated individual
serving time
inside the controversial
jail complex,
apparently took his
own life. Guallpa is the
second inmate to
die this month
following the
suicide of
Brandon
Rodriguez on Aug. 10.
Th ese deaths come in conjunction with
the hospitalization of a correctional offi -
cer who received a skull fracture recently,
and many New Yorkers are wondering
what grim circumstances are leading
to these severe acts of violence and morbid
ends.
Calling an emergency rally to address
the state of aff airs on Rikers Island, advocacy
groups #HaltSolitary and the New
York City Jails Action
Coalition joined those
previously incarcerated
and human
rights supporters
outside
City Hall on
B r o a d w a y
and Murray
Street on
Tu e s d a y
morning, Aug. 31.
Draping a tapestry
inscribed with the
names of those who
have perished while
behind bars, protesters
heard from attorney
William Wagstaff ,
representing the family of
Rodriguez, who spoke on
their behalf.
“Brandon’s
mother wants
everyone to
know they
took her
baby. She
will never
h e a r
him sing
again, never have a son call her incessantly
saying: Mom, mom, mom. Siblings
no longer have their brother. And their
hearts are broken as the families are of
all of those who have loved someone on
Rikers Island. How is this facility still
open? I ask again, how is this facility still
open?” Wagstaff said.
Addressing Mayor Bill de Blasio,
families and the formerly incarcerated
demanded the release of inmates
who have been waiting for delayed court
hearings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Melania Brown — sister of Layleen
Polanco, who died on Rikers Island
while in solitary confi nement — feels as
though she relives that death every time
another prisoner dies.
“Th e mayor promised real change. Yet,
he’s doing nothing, and more and more
families are having to suff er the pain and
torment our family continues to experience.
Since the city can’t even keep
people alive or provide the most basic
human necessities, the mayor, judges
and the district attorney have a moral
obligation to immediately release everyone
in the city jail and not send, not
one more human, one more person to
face the threat of another. I come here.
I pour my heart out. Th e mayor made
a promise, and no, he had no intent of
keeping that promise. All he did was
change the name,” Brown said, in regard
to the continuation of solitary confi nement
under the guise of a new alternative
disciplinary model, Risk Management
Accountability System (RMAS).
According to the Department of
Corrections’ reports, in July, approximately
989 pretrial detainees were in custody
for more than 600 days. Advocates
say that an immediate reduction in the
prison population is needed since they
claim 93% of those on Rikers Island
are awaiting trial or parole hearings.
Outraged at so many deaths, those at the
rally urged the mayor to stop fi libustering
and to immediately step in to correct
the situation or be on the wrong side
of history.
“Mayor de Blasio, you have failed our
communities! Let me say that again, you
have failed our communities! You will go
down in history as a mayor who invoked
the names of our deceased loved ones for
political gain,” said Johnny Perez, a member
of the National Religious Campaign
Against Torture.
Melania Brown, sister of Layleen
Polanco, who perished on Rikers
Island while in solitary confi nement.
Photos by Dean Moses
Families call for decarceration after another person is found dead in Rikers
Island.
Those at the rally said that Rikers Island is a death sentence in itself.
“No more deaths,” protesters cried out.
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