NYC Faces US Takeover of Rikers After Failing to Stem Violence (1)

A federal judge held New York City’s Department of Correction in contempt for failing to institute reforms at Rikers Island and made a move to put the city’s largest jail under federal oversight.

Chief Judge Laura Swain of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York blasted the city and correction department for their “lack of diligence” over nearly a decade to implement reforms that were mandated by the court in 2015 to remedy a pattern of excessive violence against incarcerated persons. Swain, in a Tuesday opinion, said she’s inclined to bring a third-party—known as a ...