Bronx State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33), Queens State Sen. Jessica Ramos (S.D. 13), Brooklyn State Sen. Julia Salazar (S.D. 18) and The Legal Aid Society called on Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday, Dec. 5, to grant a clemency application, currently pending for Reginald Randolph, who is currently serving a State prison sentence of 2 to 4 years for stealing NyQuil from Duane Reade.

 

Legal Aid Society representatives for Randolph, 58, who is disabled, and was homeless prior to being arrested, said he was incarcerated at Rikers Island for over 850 days before being transferred to State prison on the theft charge, which officials said did not involve an act of violence, brandishing a weapon, or making threats.

 

They said Randolph’s health is extremely poor. He is fully blind in one eye and nearly blind in the other due to cataract and glaucoma conditions. His representatives said Randolph is in need of vision-saving surgery, and that he had attended pre-operation ophthalmology appointments at a local NYC hospital while detained at Rikers Island. 

 

“Mr. Randolph is also extremely medically vulnerable, with diagnoses of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, asthma, and a history of tuberculosis — all of which, according to medical experts, make him highly susceptible to serious illness or death,” Legal Aid Society officials said. 

 

“He is also at the highest risk of COVID-19 related complications, should he be so unfortunate to contract the virus. He has used a walking device since March 2021 following a fall in the shower due to his failing vision. However, that device was reportedly taken from him after his transfer to State prison,” they added. Randolph reportedly struggles with serious mental illness which officials said has exacerbated his daily trauma, anxiety and feelings of worthlessness while in jail. 

 

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted Randolph, is not opposing clemency, given the housing and treatment programming that would be available to him, should he be released.

 

Jeffrey Berman, staff attorney at The Legal Aid Society and counsel for Randolph said in commuting Randolph’s sentence and allowing him to avoid the possibility of serious illness, medical decline and possibly death in the State prison system, Hochul would be acknowledging that Randolph’s life matters.

 

“Reggie has already been approved for transitional and long term mental health supportive housing and robust community treatment programming,” Berman said. “Further incarcerating Reggie puts him at risk of eventual homelessness and does nothing to further public safety. Reggie has inhumanely been subjected to punitive incarceration for a total of well over two years. We call on Gov. Hochul to grant Reggie clemency so that he can be released to a community that is ready to care for and support him now,” he added.   

 

On Friday, Dec. 10, to mark International Human Rights Day, Freedom Agenda, New York City Jails Action Coalition (JAC), #HALTsolitary Campaign, Court Watch NYC, the Envision Freedom Fund, Five Boro Defenders and other advocates held separate demonstrations in front of the Bronx Hall of Justice and the Criminal Courts in each of the other four boroughs. They called on judges and district attorneys “to stop sending people into the deadly conditions of New York City jails and to consent to the release of people currently held there.”

 

They said the humanitarian crisis on Rikers Island had already claimed fourteen lives this year, and that certain elected officials had called on district attorneys to stop setting unaffordable bail that causes people to languish in jail. They alleged that people in New York City Department of Correction custody “are routinely locked in solitary confinement, denied food, medical attention, transport to court dates, and other basic services, and are dying at unprecedented rates.”

 

In September, Norwood News reported on the issue of solitary confinement at Rikers, as well as on the conditions in the jail, as witnessed by a group of a elected officials, and the measures taken at City and State level at that stage to address overcrowding and other staffing issues. DOC officials acknowledged, at the time, that there were staff shortages within the jail which impacted on the welfare of those held in custody.

 

DOC representatives also said the term “solitary confinement” is misused by some. They said punitive measures are sometimes taken to respond to violence carried out by people in custody but said such measures do not constitute solitary confinement.

 

Adopted by the United Nations, the Nelson Mandela Rules define “segregated confinement for more than 15 days” as torture. Segregated or solitary confinement typically means people are locked in their cells for 20 to 24 hours a day, with no out-of-cell time and no physical interaction with other inmates.

 

On Friday, Dec. 10, The New York Daily News reported that another Rikers Island detainee, Malcolm Boatwright, 28, had died, making him the 15th inmate to die in City custody this year. Boatwright was reportedly found Friday in the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers and taken to Bellevue Hospital after experiencing what the Department of Correction described as a “medical issue,” and he later died.

 

Following news of Boatwright’s death, people who lost loved ones to solitary confinement, people who survived solitary, and their allies held a vigil outside City Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s apartment, urging him to bring legislation to end solitary confinement to a vote that has 35 sponsors – veto-proof supermajority support.

 

Melania Brown, activist and sister of the late Layleen Polanco, said her sister died in solitary confinement [in Rikers Island] because of her gender identity. “She should have been here today,” she said. “The mayor made a promise to end solitary confinement and used my sister’s name, but all they did is change the name. They are still torturing people.”

 

She added, “It is draining to come out here and pour my heart out. Now, we are asking our speaker to step up to actually end this torture. I have to spend the holidays without my baby sister. It is not ok. Speaker Johnson, you have the power to end this and you must call a vote.”

 

Victor Pate, #HALTsolitary campaign organizer and survivor of solitary, said he still feels the effects of solitary confinement. “Solitary is an experience no human being should have to endure,” he said. “There is veto-proof supermajority support for legislation to end solitary. Speaker Corey Johnson needs to call a vote now.”

 

Candie, Jails Action Coalition member and survivor of solitary, said solitary confinement does nothing but torture people and their families and loved ones. “I spent 1,168 days on Rikers Island, and 1,122 of those days in solitary confinement,” she said. “I went into solitary confinement without any mental health issues and came out with many challenges. I had no idea that they did this to women until I was in solitary. Speaker Johnson, you must call a vote now to end solitary confinement once and for all.”