In an earlier thread about Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, I mentioned the case of this young man, and cited a great article in The New Yorker about him.
After attempting to recover the life that was taken away from him unjustly, he has committed suicide:
What a terribly sad story, Consolation. I don’t understand how a teenager, or anyone for that matter, can be held at Rikers for three years without a trial. And over a stolen backpack? Good lord.
I just read that story in the news, and it just broke my heart. How can something like that happen in the United States? This is something that everyone, from every political party and every walk of life, should be angry about.
Who thought this was the right thing to do? And why was no one held accountable? Horrifying that this could be happening to other young people at this very moment.
It’s my understanding that prosecutors must be ready for trial within 5 days, but the defense can request more time. In many cases public defenders of low priority cases like this just push it off for ridiculous amounts of time.
This could have been anyone’s kid, anywhere in the United States, and the parents powerless to help. How is this not getting more media attention?
Let’s not forget that the charges were ultimately dismissed. This young fellow demonstrated quite a bit of character by insisting that he was innocent and refusing to take a plea deal. Was that why he was mistreated? The prosecutors must be made to answer that question.
There had better be some accountability for this. What a horrible thing to happen, how is this even possible? And why put a kid, or anyone for that matter, in jail for stealing a backpack? Even for one day?
They were so insistent about his alleged crime. A tragedy. His government failed him.
This is the saddest story. I know someone that taught at Rikers, and there is a large population of juveniles that are taught by public school teachers at Rikers.Apparently, the rule goes, “snitches get stitches”, so the guards are completely out of control. It appears that the facility is fraught with abuse.
If you remember, the guy that filmed the Eric Garner choking was at Rikers. Cops wouldnt leave him alone after that filming. He went on a hunger strike because they were putting rat poison in his food.
And the saddest part of all… there are probably others like him incarcerated right now somewhere in the US. Our justice system is failing so, so many people. Most of them poor, and of color.
What a tragic story.
Solitary confinement is mentally destructive and anti-rehabilitative. It should be strictly reserved for those despicable criminals who have zero chances of seeing the world outside the prison walls, like Tsarnaev.
This is the worst thing I have ever heard of in America (or at least that I can recall), because it’s not one bad person commiting a heinous act, it’s the entire system keeping this kid in jail for 3 years without a trial. I didn’t think this was possible. Was there no bail set? No attorneys to get him out? I saw his attorney on TV who said his client was tortured, but he didnt explain why he could not get him released from jail. How can we criticize Iran or China when we do things like this? Note that the Washington Post bureau cheif held in Iran is having his trial right now. It might be secret, but he is having a trial. The subject of the movie Rosewater was imprisoned for what, 9 months in Iran and they made a movie about him. This kid was in jail for 3 years. I really need to get more information on this one to find out how it happened.
Before you blame this debacle on the public defender, READ THE NEW YORKER ARTICLE.
Anyone who wants to know what happened should do so. It details the reasons for every delay. I believe there is a link to it in the NYT article I posted.
The kid was obviously innocent. He had enormous strength of character to refuse to cop a plea and be branded a criminal for life.
All other things aside, I am shocked by the fact alone that teenagers would be held at a facility like Rikers before having a conviction. Here they would be sent to a county facility, and kept in an area with at least similar aged offenders. What a horrific thing for him to go through. Even if he were guilty, that is still unacceptable.
Congratulations to Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson for getting the death penalty for an innocent kid. See you in Hell.
WashPost article:
NYTimes editorial:
That this happened is sickening and frightening.
Leaving aside the horrendous injustice suffered by this young man, the sheer number of people incarcerated in this country is a national disgrace. We now have virtual debtors prisons in some state, and prisons have become a for-profit industry.
I find it all sickening and frightening.
That was one of the problems in Ferguson: they have virtual debtors prisons there for the people who don’t pay their traffic tickets for trumped-up violations.
A brief commentary by Ta-Nehisi Coates:
Everyone ought to read the original New Yorker article.