Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced on Thursday, Nov. 4, that a Rikers Island inmate has been charged with second-degree assault and additional charges for attacking an NYC Department of Correction (DOC) officer, in the jail.

 

Clark said, “The defendant allegedly held a makeshift weapon to a DOC officer’s neck. Thankfully other officers intervened, and the victim was not seriously injured.” She continued, “With our partners at the Department of Correction, we are doing all we can to stop the relentless violence in Rikers Island, and end these attacks against DOC staff who are simply doing their jobs.”

 

Clark said the defendant, James Hawkins, 30, an inmate in Rikers Island, was arraigned on Nov. 3 on two counts of second-degree assault, first and second-degree promoting prison contraband, first and second-degree unlawful imprisonment, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree menacing and third-degree assault before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Efrain Alvarado. Bail was set at $75,000 cash/$75,000 bond, and the defendant is due back in court on Feb 4, 2022.

 

As reported, District 15 City Councilman Oswald Feliz recently joined some but not all city council members in sending a letter to State legislators to reform the previously passed “bail reform” legislation, in order to ensure dangerous criminals are detained while they await trial.

 

According to the investigation, on Oct. 13, at approximately 1.12 p.m. in the George R. Vierno Center of Rikers Island jail, Hawkins allegedly approached the victim, brandishing a sharp metal object, several inches in length, and held the weapon to the officer’s neck.

 

Correction officers rushed to help the victim and deployed their pepper spray. Hawkins removed the weapon from the victim’s neck but continued to hold the corrections officer by his neck. He eventually released him when he left the area, and hid the weapon. Officers searched and recovered the eight-inch sharpened metal shank that had a cloth handle. The victim received medical attention but did not sustain any serious injuries.

 

Norwood News recently reported on what was being done by the DOC to respond to the criticism over the conditions and plight of inmates at Rikers. DOC officials said at the time that some problems were attributable to staff shortages as a result of people phoning in sick and others having to work more back-to-back shifts. However, others have criticized ongoing jail policy around issues like solitary confinement.

 

In response to criticism over the treatment and described, inhumane conditions experienced by inmates at the jail, on Sept. 14, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an emergency order to execute the “Rikers Relief Plan,” a five-point plan to address the “challenges” on Rikers Island.

 

On Sept. 17, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the signature of the Less is More Act. The act restricts incarcerating New Yorkers for technical and non-criminal parole violations and also requires hearings to happen more quickly. “It’s about protecting human life. It’s about protecting human rights. It’s about protecting human dignity,” she said at the time, adding that New York State incarcerates more people for parole violations than any other state in the country.

 

At the same time, she directed that 191 Rikers Island inmates who would no longer qualify for incarceration under the new law be immediately released from the City jail. Hochul also directed the State Department of Corrections to start the process of transferring 200 Rikers inmates into State prison facilities, to ease overcrowding at Rikers. However, some families have objected to the transfer as it makes it more difficult for them to visit family members who are incarcerated.

 

A rally and march to the governor’s office at 633 Third Avenue in Manhattan was held on Monday, Oct. 25, by The Bronx Defenders, New Pride Agenda, Stonewall Protests, The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services and Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, in opposition to the proposed transfer.

 

On Oct. 13, New York City Public Advocate, Jumaane Williams, who recently regained his seat in the Nov. 2 general election, said, “Amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis, it is imperative to get as many incarcerated people off of Rikers Island as possible, as quickly as possible. In that aim, I am relieved to know that these individuals will be transferred out of a dire, dangerous situation, and that the reduced strain enables corrections staff to focus on the people remaining, even as we must continue expanded decarceration efforts.”

 

He continued, “These transfers – too late and too far away – are a necessary but imperfect solution, and in many cases, supervised release would be more effective. Rapidly reducing the population of Rikers is critical for the health and safety of incarcerated people and corrections staff alike – but the implementation of those efforts is key.”

 

Williams said additional efforts must be made to continue to connect the people being transferred to their families, their homes, and the programs and services they need. “Distance cannot become a factor in the out-of-sight, out-of-mind mentality that helped propel Rikers to this state of emergency in the first place,” he said. “Today’s announcement cannot be an end goal – it is one of the many tools we must continue to use to provide disaster relief.”

 

There has been further anger, as recently reported by The New York Times, over reports of more inmate deaths at Rikers. In response, the DOC recently agreed to be more transparent, going forward, about providing details of when people died in custody, as well as addressing the root causes of the deaths.

 

Williams weighed in, once again, releasing a statement on the topic on Oct. 19, saying, “Within hours of the Board of Correction releasing a report on Nicholas Feliciano and the city’s failure to prevent attempts of suicide and self-harm in jails, that report was confirmed and reinforced as Anthony Scott lost his life following his own suicide attempt.”

 

Williams continued, “His is the fourteenth life lost within the city’s jail system this year, and it again makes clear that the Department of Correction is proving unable to fill the basic mandate of protecting people in its custody, especially people at-risk of or experiencing mental health crisis. Everyone agrees that our jail cannot be used as mental health treatment centers, and yet it persists.”

 

He concluded, “The Board’s report shows clear inadequacies in Nicholas Feliciano’s case that are not situational but systemic. Anthony Scott’s death also makes clear that the problems with the city’s jails extend beyond the shores of Rikers Island. The recommendations in the report are positive, but as I pray for the family of Anthony Scott, for Nicholas Feliciano and his family, it is clear that we need transformational change to truly address the tragedies of a too-often unjust and inhumane system.”

 

In June 2020, Norwood News reported on the prevalence of gang-related violence at Rikers Island. Clark announced on Jun. 25, 2020 that 26 alleged Trinitario gang members, who are current or former Rikers Island inmates, had been charged for multiple stabbings, and other acts of violence in the jail.

 

She said at the time, “During their time in Rikers Island, these defendants allegedly conspired and engaged in numerous slashings and stabbings that caused grievous wounds. They allegedly carried out these attacks in order to preserve and protect the power of the Trinitario gang, meting out punishment to their own members as well as rivals.” She added, “We will not tolerate such brutality against incarcerated individuals and will hold people accountable even after they have left jail. We will continue to attack the pipeline of violence from Rikers Island to the streets.”

 

On Friday, Nov. 5, a fire was reported on Rikers Island. “Units responded to 15-00 Hazen St./Rikers Island Correctional Facility at 20.15 hrs for a report of fire on the 2nd floor of a 7-story building/infirmary,” an FDNY official told the Norwood News on Saturday, Nov. 6. “12 units/60 fire personnel put the fire under control at 21.17 hrs,” the FDNY official added. There were five reported injuries, including two correction officers, one firefighter and two inmates. All were reportedly non-life threatening. FDNY officials said the cause of the fire is unknown at this time.

 

Hawkins’ case is being prosecuted by senior investigative assistant district attorney, Georgia D.  Barker, of the Rikers Island prosecution bureau, under the supervision of Francis Alberts, chief of the Rikers Island prosecution bureau, and under the overall supervision of Wanda Perez-Maldonado, chief of the investigations division.

 

The district attorney thanked Lourdes Galindez, community coordinator in the Rikers Island prosecution bureau, as well as the DOC correction intelligence bureau (CIB), specifically CIB investigators, Daniel Monaco and Walter Holmes, for their assistance in the investigation.

 

An indictment (charge) is an accusatory instrument, and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.