Replacing Rikers

The importance of closing Rikers Island cannot be overstated, both because of its practical consequences and its symbolic message. As a former Chair of the New York City Board of Correction and a retired Criminal Court Judge, I believe I have a fairly unique perspective on how that jail complex impacted lives and communities and how its closing will usher in a new and humane response by the criminal justice system to addressing crime, punishment and rehabilitation.
Unquestionably, incarceration on Rikers is an horrific experience, especially for inmates awaiting trial ( a majority), who are held because of their inability to post bail. Violence committed by inmates and correction officers alike is a daily occurrence. Inhospitable living conditions, lack of proper medical and psychiatric care and, most debilitating, solitary confinement, have resulted in suicides, homicides and emotional dysfunction. While there has been some remediation, such as curtailing isolation, conditions on the island are little improved and remain grossly unacceptable.
Even for those who have been convicted and are serving short sentences, the ever present specter of violence and the substandard living conditions impose an unduly punitive and threatening existence. The inadequacy of educational opportunity, job training and medical and  psychiatric care for this cohort make more problematic their release to society and increase the likelihood of repeated offenses.
The jails to be built as a replacement for Rikers will have the virtues of housing fewer inmates, having modern and more humane facilities and of being located in neighborhoods convenient for family visitation and in close proximity to the courts where the cases are heard. The long delays inherent in transporting defendants to distant courthouses, a major vexation for judges and jurors, will be obviated.
Some argue that the projected decrease in prison population is overly optimistic and that the capacity of the proposed new jails will be inadequate to house all those detained. That fear will prove illusory given the recently enacted measures to end cash bail and to decriminalize minor offenses. Further, as a former judge and current judicial hearing officer, I am hopeful that more judges will have the wisdom and courage to recognize that most accused non-violent offenders can be released pending trial without risk of flight or threat to safety. The combination of these factors undoubtedly will reduce the prison population to an even more humane level (small steps in ending the evil of mass incarceration) that can be served by the new facilities.