A New York Times probe into how mentally ill patients are handled at Rikers Island has revealed details more horrific than originally believed.
During the detailed four-month investigation, the Times learned that 129 inmates suffered assaults by corrections officers so severe between January and November of last year that they needed emergency medical attention. This information came from a study organized by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which the Times says refused to share under the Freedom of Information Law.
On a more troubling level, 70 percent of the victims had been diagnosed with some form of mental illness. A selection of 80 inmates were interviewed, and 80 percent of them revealed that they were attacked while handcuffed.
This should spur further reformation of the city's corrections system, which has already received an unwanted spotlight due to recent instances of inmate abuse, as well as deaths resulting from negligence.
[via New York Times]
Send tips, photos and news developments to cityguidetips@complex.com.
