Transgender inmates to be transferred out of Rikers Island as prison descends into chaos

Arial view of Riker’s Island and jail
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said that 230 women and transgender people will be temporarily transferred out of Rikers Island to state-run facilities as the New York City prison descends into lawlessness.

“The situation on Rikers Island is grave and complex, and thus requires bold action from all levels of government to deliver change,” Hochul said in a statement, announcing that the people who are being transferred out include “nearly all” the women and trans people at Rikers Island.

Related: Black trans woman sues after being sexually assaulted over 14 times in men’s prison

Conditions on Rikers Island have deteriorated over the past several months, with state lawmakers calling it “an absolute humanitarian crisis.”

“The place is in a state of emergency, and we need to act now,” New York State Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas (D) told CBS News last month. “We must work to de-carcerate.”

Rikers Island has long been criticized for…

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