In January 2018, Mayor de Blasio announced a 10-year plan to close the Rikers Island Jail Complex and transfer its reduced jail population to new jails close to courthouses within the boroughs and nearer to the detainees’ families and attorneys. The plan followed upon the well-respected findings of the Independent Commission on Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform, known as the Lippman Commission, whose 2017 report, “A More Just New York City,” condemned the conditions under which New Yorkers are held at Rikers Island. It advocated for reducing the city’s jail population through criminal justice reforms and creating safer and more humane jails, recognizing as well that 80% of those held in city jails have yet to be convicted of a crime. Read full article here