Riker's Island
view through the razor wire
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Riker's
Island
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Riker's Island |
This year, the United States achieved a dubious distinction: It surpassed Russia as the world leader in imprisonment, with one in every 130 people living behind bars. The U.S. prison population has soared above 2 million, and most of those inmates are locked up for nonviolent crimes. People are also leaving prison in record numbers; in 2000, an unprecedented 600,000 prisoners will return home. |
| Riker's Island is the heart of New York City's jail system, home to 80 percent of its 14,600 or so inmates, with nine jails for men and one for women. Rikers' daytime populationÑincluding prisoners, employees, and visitorsÑis enormous, nearly 20,000. All residents are temporary. Two-thirds of the inmates are detaineesÑlegally innocent and waiting for their cases to crawl through the courtsÑwhile one-third have been sentenced and are either waiting for an empty bed in an upstate prison or are serving a year or less there. |
view through the razor wire |
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view through surveillance cameras |
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