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Violence and Corruption at Rikers Island; Called a “Battle Camp for Kids”
Loaded on Jan. 15, 2009
by David Reutter
published in Prison Legal News
January, 2009, page 20
Filed under:
Guard Misconduct,
Jail Misconduct,
Injury -- Misc.,
Criminal Prosecution,
Failure to Protect (General),
Guard Brutality/Beatings,
Juveniles,
Juvenile Prisons.
Location:
New York.
Violence and Corruption at Rikers Island; Called a “Battle Camp for Kids”
by David M. Reutter
While there have been no escapes and only two suicides in the past year at New York City’s Rikers Island, the nation’s largest jail system – which houses 13,900 prisoners – is under …
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More from this issue:
- Prisoners Exposed to Toxic Dust at UNICOR Recycling Factories, by Brandon Sample
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Allegations of Contraband Smuggling, Sex and Corruption at Texas Prison, by Matthew Clarke
- Organizing for Freedom: Resistance at Angola State Penitentiary, Louisiana’s Last Slave Plantation, by Jordan Flaherty
- U.S. Homeland Security Illegally Drugged Immigrants for Deportation, by Gary Hunter
- Connecticut DOC Settles Prisoner’s Brutal Beating By Ten Guards For $500,000
- Multiple Incidents Indicate Florida Jail Has Culture of Abuse
- Prisoners’ Death Rate Report Indicts Prison Medical Care by Implication, by David Reutter
- Welcome to Fun Day: Crime and Punishment in the United States, by Marie Gottschalk
- Cook County Jail Conditions Unconstitutional, Charges Department of Justice, by David Reutter
- CMS Fails to Treat MRSA Infection; Florida Jail Prisoner Dies
- Oregon Juvenile Facility Warden Indicted; Youth Authority Director Resigns, by Mark Wilson
- Violence and Corruption at Rikers Island; Called a “Battle Camp for Kids”, by David Reutter
- Former PHS Doctor Arrested on Drug Charges
- Prison Health and Self-Care: MRSA, by Michael D. Cohen, MD
- Cold Case Hits Use Vastly Exaggerated DNA “Match” Statistics; Upheld by California Supreme Court, by Matthew Clarke
- $885,437.24 Award for CMS Massachusetts Jail Nurse Barred for Reporting Prisoner Abuse
- 115,000 Florida Ex-Felons Have Civil Rights Restored Under New Rules
- Texas Prison Guard Files False Report, Faces 20 Years, by Gary Hunter
- Los Angeles County Settles For $900,000 After Unattended Prisoner Savagely Beaten By Violent Jail Gang
- Texas Prisoners Pay Parole Consultants Hefty Fees
- TASER Avoids Liability in Three Deaths by Suing Medical Examiner, by John Dannenberg
- $3,540,402.22 Jury Award In California Wrongful Conviction Case
- PR Bonds Plummet in Harris County, Texas as Jail Overflows, by Gary Hunter
- Nurse Pleads Guilty in Death of Florida Juvenile Prisoner
- Ohio Court Finds Three-Drug Execution Protocol Violates Prisoners’ State Rights
- Florida Prison Employees Awarded $630,000 for Subjection to Prisoner “Gunners”
- Demonstrators Supporting Guantanamo Prisoners in Front of U.S. Supreme Court Found Guilty of Unlawful Assembly
- $170,000 Jury Verdict in Sacramento Jail Beating
- Costs for San Quentin’s Proposed New Death Row Spiral Upward, by John Dannenberg
- Washington State’s Criminal Libel Statute Held Unconstitutional; Prisoner Disciplinary Conviction Vacated, by John Dannenberg
- Florida Sheriff Sued for Awarding No-Bid Health Care Contract, Receiving Gifts
- Civil Commitment Provisions of Adam Walsh Act Held Unconstitutional
- PHS Receives Three-Year $366 Million Rikers Island Medical Care Contract Renewal Despite Non-Performance Fines for Last Three Years, by John Dannenberg
- Washington Jail Remodel Violated State Law, at a Cost of $51.6 million, by Mark Wilson
- Michigan Escape is Not “Violent Felony” for ACCA Purposes
- Jail Nurse Guilty of Forging Doctor’s Order; Forged Orders Common Jail Practice, by Mark Wilson
- $7 Million in Settlements in Colorado Jail Prisoner’s Death from Medical Negligence, by David Reutter
- Ohio Jail Guard’s Excessive Force Conviction Affirmed
- $1,100,000 Settlement in Juvenile Prisoner Suicide in Union County, New Jersey
- Will California’s $11 Billion Prison Outlay Survive State Budget Cuts?, by Marvin Mentor
- Second Circuit Recognizes Attorney-Client Privilege in Prisoner’s Journal in Prosecution of Rapist Guard
- Rape of Child by Former Washington DOC Director’s Son Spawns Departmental Crisis, by John Dannenberg
- Ex-Con Exposed – Had Posed as a Lawyer, by John Dannenberg
- $5 Million Settlement For Illegal Strip Searches In Las Cruces, NM Jail
- New Jersey Court Enters Preliminary Injunction Barring Women Prisoners at Men’s Prison
- PEW Report: 1 in 99 Adult Americans Behind Bars In 2007, by John Dannenberg
- Maryland DOC Pays $500,000 for Detainee Beaten to Death By Guards
- $7,025 Award in Slip and Fall From Ohio Prison Bunk
- Georgia Sheriff Must Give Revenue from Prisoner Phone Calls to County, by David Reutter
- Beleaguered Oregon Sheriff Steps Down, by Mark Wilson
- Violence at Oklahoma Prisons Leaves Two Dead, Twenty-Five Injured, by Matthew Clarke
- News in Brief:
- Sixth Circuit Now Permits § 1983 Complaint to Proceed Even If Prisoner Did Not Initially Plead Exhaustion Below
More from David Reutter:
- Washington State Guard’s Conviction Affirmed in Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound Scheme, March 1, 2026
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Holds Motion Judge Abused Discretion by Denying Evidentiary Hearing on IAC Claim Where Plea Counsel’s Affidavit Was Not Inherently Inconsistent With Colloquy Statements Regarding Immigration Advice, March 1, 2026
- Washington Supreme Court Clarifies Double Jeopardy Analysis for Multiple Assault Convictions, Holding That Assaultive Acts Occurring Over Short Time Period in Same Location Without Intervening Events Constitute Single Course of Conduct, March 1, 2026
- New Jersey Supreme Court Reverses Drug Convictions Under Cumulative Error Doctrine, Holding Combined Effect of Improper References to Television Series, Gun Violence, and Search Warrants Deprived Defendant of Fair Trial, March 1, 2026
- New York Court of Appeals Announces Coercive Police Tactics Compelling Suspect to Exit Home Constitute “Constructive Entry” Violating Payton, Holds Attenuation Analysis Applies to Third-Party Consent, March 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Revives Deliberate Indifference Claim for Baltimore Detainee Served Rotten Food, March 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Clarifies Revocation Appeal Provides “Procedurally Appropriate Mechanism” for Raising Rogers Challenge to Unannounced Supervised Release Conditions, Vacates Revocation Judgment Based on Null Standard Conditions, March 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit: District Court Erred in Dismissing BOP Prisoner’s Medical Claim, Finds Prison Officials Made Administrative Remedies Unavailable, March 1, 2026
- Tenth Circuit Affirmed Denial of Guards Qualified Immunity in Disabled Detainee’s Fourteenth Amendment Claim, March 1, 2026
- The Malleable Mind in the Courtroom: Why Confident Eyewitnesses Often Provide the Least Reliable Evidence, Oct. 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- “Large Fight” Broke Out at Alaska Prison After Downsizing Effort, April 1, 2026. Transfers, Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding.
- Idaho Struggles to Respond to Devasting Report of Widespread Prisoner Sex Abuse, April 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Prison Rape Elimination Act, State Legislation, Public Records Act.
- Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, April 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- Five Prisoners in Georgia Injured in Fight, Two Months After Three Prisoners Were Killed, April 1, 2026. Prison/Jail Murders, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing.
- Leaked Video Footage Shows California Prison Guards Engaged in Retaliatory Assault, March 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Prison Rape Elimination Act.
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Report Breaks Down Federal Contraband Sentences, March 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Mechanical Searches/Scanners, Statistics/Trends, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
- Eighth Circuit Revives Case Against Guards Who Failed to Intervene As Chaplain Sexually Assaulted Arkansas Prisoner, March 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Prison Rape Elimination Act, Qualified Immunity, Failure to Train/Supervise.
- “Devil in the Ozarks” Gets 13 More Years for Escape, March 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Escapes, Security Systems, Authentication/Identification.
- Georgia Grand Jury Scolds Augusta Jail for Overcrowding Days Before Violent Detainee Assault, March 1, 2026. Private Contractors, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Staffing, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Washington State Guard’s Conviction Affirmed in Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound Scheme, March 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, False Statements/Perjury, Possession or Use of Firearms, Abuse of Position of Trust.

