By Kevin Barragan
NEW YORK, NY – An opinion piece in “City & State New York” written by family members of people who died at Rikers Jail, charge if Rikers had killed white people, the governor would close it, not condemn more people there.
NY Gov. Kathy Hochul is advocating to weaken New York bail law, but Tamara Carter, Lezandre Khadu and Amariliz Torres write, “We feel confident that Hochul’s proposed changes would lead to an increase in the number of New Yorkers stuck in dangerous jails.”
They add, “We are just some of the dozens of grieving families of New Yorkers who died on Rikers Island amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis in the jails. We have an urgent message for our elected lawmakers: Do not condemn more of our fellow community members to these deathtrap jails.” 
The authors indicate if families were white, the people incarcerated were white, a plea wouldn’t be necessary.
“Right now, the jails are abandoning people with mental health needs in tiny shower cages as de facto solitary confinement. People are languishing without urgently needed medical care for everything from painful chronic diseases to broken bones,” the authors write, adding correctional officers are deemed corrupted and New York City’s jails have had 36 deaths since January 2021.
The authors said Rikers gets all the attention because of the deaths, and those that survive Rikers come out bearing emotional trauma.
According to the authors, “The governor’s latest proposal would reportedly remove the ‘least restrictive means’ standard from the bail laws, meaning judges would have no guidance on when and why to set bail.” In other words, leaving it to the judge’s discretion to set bail or not.
The City & State opinion writers note, “Often, the fight over the bail laws is framed as a tension between safety and racial justice, but this is false. It’s a fight over whether the safety of all New Yorkers – and not just the privileged few – matters.
“We live in communities across the city and, like our neighbors, we have the right to be safe in our own homes, on the sidewalk, in subway stations – everywhere. New York’s jails deprived our loved ones of this right to safety – and make us all less safe. They bring about trauma and despair, not growth and healing. We’ve seen it firsthand.
“More than that, an unequal and unfair justice system only worsens the poverty, inequality, shame, anger and exclusions from society that create the conditions for violence to occur in our communities.”
The family members/authors add policymakers should use civil rights as a political convenience. This upcoming year, New York is hoping for real investments towards policy reforms that address safety among communities, mental health, drug rehabilitation, and public health matters.
“All we can do is hope and pray – and get organized to demand that political leaders protect our families, our communities and the lives of all New Yorkers. This will not be the last you hear from us,” the writers promise. 
