Download or read book Inside Rikers written by Jennifer Wynn and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2001-07-25 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Jennifer Wynn has been going in for seven years. She entered first as a journalist, volunteered as a writing teacher, and then served as director of a unique rehabilitation program known as Fresh Start."--BOOK JACKET.

Download or read book Life and Death in Rikers Island written by Homer Venters and published by Johns Hopkins University Press. This book was released on 2019-02-19 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This revelatory and groundbreaking book concludes with the author's analysis of the case for closing Rikers Island jails and his advice on how to do it for the good of the incarcerated.

Download or read book Corruption Officer written by Gary L. Heyward and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2015-03-31 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this shocking memoir from a former corrections officer, Gary Heyward shares an eye-opening, gritty, and devastating account of his descent into criminal life, smuggling contraband inside the infamous Rikers Island jails. Gary Heyward’s life changed forever when he received a letter from the New York City Department of Corrections announcing he was accepted into the academy for new recruits. For the Harlem-born ex-Marine, being an officer of the law was the ticket he’d been waiting for to move up from a low-wage security job and out of the Polo Ground Projects in New York City—and take his mother with him. Heyward was warned of the temptations he’d encounter as a new officer, but when faced with financial hardship, he suddenly found himself unable to resist the income generated from selling contraband to inmates. In his distinctive voice, Heyward takes you on a journey inside the walls of Rikers Island, showing how he teamed up with various inmates and other officers to develop a system that allowed him to profit from selling drugs inside the jail. Corruption Officer is a jarring exposé of a man having lived on both sides of the law, a rare insider’s look at a corrupt city jail, and a testament to the lengths we’ll go when our backs are against the wall.

Download or read book Behind These Prison Walls written by Lorenzo Steele, Jr. and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-02-04 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Behind These Prison Walls "Life Inside Rikers Island" gives a photographic journey into the nation's most violent adolescent jail on Rikers Island. Former New York City Corrections officer and visual artist gives viewers a first-hand account into the horrors and dangers officers and detainees were subjected to daily. Former New York City Corrections officer and visual artist Lorenzo Steele Jr. uses art as a medium to change habits and behaviors that can lead to criminal activity. Lorenzo served 12 years as an officer on Rikers Island (1987-1999) and his mission through the arts is to deter youth from making choices and decisions that can have a devastating effect on their lives. It's an educational book that's grade appropriate and can be used in public-schools, churches, colleges and art galleries.

Download or read book Across The Bridge a Rikers Island Story written by Steven Dominguez and published by Molding Messengers, LLC. This book was released on 2021-01-11 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A harrowing insight into New York City's most notorious detention complex, Rikers Island. The narrative plays through multiple characters who possess a particular position of control and power within the jail, along with the inmates and civilians who witness the violence, drugs, sex, and corruption that occurs every day inside. The seclusion of the jail from the city's beautiful skyline can seem like an amazing inferno to outsiders, however, for those who make it to the other side whether to make a living, being detained for breaking the law or visiting someone accused of doing so, they all share that unshakable feeling. Each character intertwines with one another through desperation and aspiration, sharing the same main objective... survival. Fraternization between uniformed staff and those incarcerated, the drug and alcohol abuse they have in common, violence between the inner-city gangs who congregate under the same roof, and the political pressure of elected officials attempting to maintain order where over 40% of the population suffers from mental illness. Out of sight out of mind. WELCOME TO THE ISLAND.

Download or read book Captives written by Jarrod Shanahan and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2022-05-17 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive history of America’s most notorious jail and the violent rise of New York City’s law-and-order movement Captives combines a thrilling account of Rikers Island’s descent into infamy with a dramatic retelling of the last seventy years of New York politics from the vantage point of the city’s jails. It is the story of a crowded field of contending powers—city bureaucrats and unions, black power activists and guards, crooked cops and elected leaders—struggling for power and influence, a tale culminating in mass incarceration and the triumph of neoliberalism. It is a riveting chronicle of how the Rikers Island of today—and the social order it represents—came to be. Conjuring sweeping cinematic vistas, Captives records how the tempo of history was set by bloody and bruising clashes between guards and prisoners, between rank and filers and union bosses, between reformers and reactionaries, and between police officers and virtually everyone else. Written by a one-time Rikers prisoner, Captives draws on extensive archival research, decades of journalism, interviews, prisoner testimonials, and firsthand experience to deliver an urgent intervention into our national discussion about the future of mass incarceration and the call to abolish prisons. The contentious debate about the future of the Rikers Island penal colony rolls onward, and Captives is a must-read for anyone interested in the island and what it represents.

Download or read book Inside the Dark Underbelly of Rikers Island written by Robin Miller and published by Robin K Miller. This book was released on 2016-06-06 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Part of Robin K Miller is still locked up inside Rikers Island, along with the spirit of her deceased sister. The current upheavals and violence taking place in and around the infamous Island are also taking place inside Robin's tortured heart. A correction guard at Rikers Island for 20 years, Robin's story is not merely a bold and brave expose of what really happens "behind closed doors," it is the deeply intimate and wrenching odyssey of a woman who has survived the un-survivable, and who is committed to sharing her truth. Her story is the ultimate triumph over darkness and corruption. The other story is that of an institution riddled with decay and corruption. Together theirs form a strident call to action for the entire American penal system.

Download or read book Gone Til November written by Lil Wayne and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-10-11 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Transfixing…[Wayne’s] prison diary is, above all, a testament to the irrepressibility of his charisma—his is a force that can never go dormant, even when it’s not plainly on display.” –The New Yorker From rap superstar Lil Wayne comes Gone ’Til November, a deeply personal and revealing account of his time spent incarcerated on Rikers Island for eight months in 2010. In 2010, recording artist Lil Wayne was at the height of his career. A fixture in the rap game for more than a decade, Lil Wayne (aka Weezy) had established himself as both a prolific musician and a savvy businessman, smashing long-held industry records, winning multiple Grammy Awards, and signing up-and-coming talent like Drake and Nicki Minaj to his Young Money label. All of this momentum came to a halt when he was convicted of possession of a firearm and sentenced to a yearlong stay at Rikers Island. Suddenly, the artist at the top of his game was now an inmate at the mercy of the American penal system. At long last, Gone ’Til November reveals the true story of what really happened while Wayne was behind bars, exploring everything from his daily rituals to his interactions with other inmates to how he was able to keep himself motivated and grateful. Taken directly from Wayne’s own journal, this intimate, personal account of his incarceration is an utterly humane look at the man behind the artist.

Download or read book Rikers High written by Paul Volponi and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2010-02-04 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An unflinching story about justice, courage, and the life of one young man behind bars. It started out as an innocent day for Martin, but it quickly turned into his worst nightmare--arrested for something he didn't even mean to do. And five months later, he is still locked up in jail on infamous Rikers Island. Just when things couldn't get worse, Martin gets caught in a fight between two prisoners, and his face is slashed. He's scarred forever, but one good thing comes from the attack: Martin is transferred to a part of Rikers where inmates must attend high school. When he meets his caring and understanding teacher, will Martin open up and learn from his situation? Or will he be consumed by prison and getting revenge on his attackers? "Volponi, who taught on Rikers Island for six years, writes with an authenticity that will make readers feel Martin's fear."--Publishers Weekly "Volponi . . . brings to life a believable range of teachers, COs, and inmates and portrays power, hierarchies, and race relations both outside and inside the jail walls with unflinching realism."--School Library Journal "With down-to-earth language based on his own experiences . . . Volponi captures the reader."--VOYA

Download or read book Caught in the Struggle written by C. Rene West and published by Primadonna Pub Incorporated. This book was released on 2004-01-01 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: West shares raw, shocking, true stories from the world's most notorious penal institution where the same crimes are committed behind the gates as on the streets of New York City by both the inmates who live there and the officers who work there.

Download or read book Lockdown on Rikers written by Mary E. Buser and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2015-09-29 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mary Buser began her career at Rikers Island as a social work intern, brimming with ideas and eager to help incarcerated women find a better path. Her reassignment to a men's jail coincided with the dawn of the city's "stop-and-frisk" policy, a flood of unprecedented arrests, and the biggest jailhouse build-up in New York City history. Committed to the possibility of growth for the scarred and tattooed masses who filed into her session booth, Buser was suddenly faced with black eyes, punched-out teeth, and frantic whispers of beatings by officers. Recognizing the greater danger of pointing a finger at one's captors, Buser attempted to help them, while also keeping them as well as herself, safe. Following her promotion to assistant chief, she was transferred to different jails, working in the Mental Health Center, and finally, at Rikers's notorious "jail within jail," the dreaded solitary confinement unit, where she saw horrors she'd never imagined. Finally, it became too much to bear, forcing Buser to flee Rikers and never look back - until now. Lockdown on Rikers shines a light into the deepest and most horrific recesses of the criminal justice system, and shows how far it has really drifted from the ideals we espouse.

Download or read book Inside Rikers Island written by Pierre Raphaël and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Real War on Crime written by National Center on Institutions and Alternatives (U.S.). National Criminal Justice Commission and published by Harper Perennial. This book was released on 1996-03-07 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A board of criminal justice experts--including Harvard Law School professor Derrick Bell, former U.S. Attorney General Edward Levi, and Elaine Jones, the director of the NAACP's legal defense fund--confronts the #1 explosive issue in the nation--crime--examining all the conflicting ideas, facts, figures, and theories about crime, violence, and punishment to present a realistic and insightful analysis.

Download or read book Rikers Island written by Evan Baker and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2009-09-18 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book about Rikers Island uses the Art of War as a tool to understand how to overcome being imprisoned in the largest jail in the world. Rikers Island allows the reader to understand the individual incarcerated from a more human perspective. The books intent is to create change through awareness of a human crisis that is understood in less than humane terms. The book identifies education as a tool for overcoming a huge prison and jail population that is 98 percent Black and Hispanic. Advocacy for the reinstitution of the college degree program is an underlying theme that develops as a solution to the Black Diaspora.

Download or read book Inside Rikers written by Jennifer Wynn and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2002-07-24 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rikers Island--just six miles from the Empire State Building--is one of the largest, most complex and most expensive penal institutions in the world, yet most New Yorkers couldn't find it on a map. Jennifer Wynn, the director of the Fresh Start program at Rikers, takes readers into the jails and then back out-to the communities where her students were born and raised. She chronicles their journeys as they struggle to "go straight" and find respect in a city that fears and rejects them. Part memoir, part social commentary, Inside Rikers details the author's experiences on Rikers. Wynn offers a compelling portrait of its 18,000 inmates and how Rikers was transformed from one of the most violent jails into one of the safest.

Download or read book Gangster Redemption written by Larry Lawton and published by Health Communications. This book was released on 2012-05-25 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written in collaboration with New York Times bestselling author Peter Golenbock, Larry Lawton's true-life story is a Hollywood producer's dream. Larry and Peter show the world a life of a straightforward, no excuses man who refused to let a broken system keep him down. Think Goodfellas, only better. Gangster Redemption tracks Larry's life growing up in the Bronx, his connection to organized crime, and how he went on to steal over 15 million dollars in jewels, ultimately landing himself in one of America's most brutal maximum-security prisons where he was exposed to unbelievable torture. Through reading this book, readers will discover: a vivid account of Larry's crimes and how he managed to evade law enforcement and the FBI for nearly six years a secret life of corruption the truth about prison life, what is lost, how to avoid and dissolve bad associations, and how to turn ones life around how Larry developed the #1 program in the country designed to steer teens away from a life of crime Lawton's Reality Check Program is nationally recognized and used by judges, law enforcement, government officials, attorneys, and parents all over the country. It has kept thousands of teens and young adults from going to prison. His success rate is incredible and well documented. So is Larry Lawton's story.

Download or read book All Day written by Liza Jessie Peterson and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2017-04-18 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ALL DAY is a behind-the-bars, personal glimpse into the issue of mass incarceration via an unpredictable, insightful and ultimately hopeful reflection on teaching teens while they await sentencing. Told with equal parts raw honesty and unbridled compassion, ALL DAY recounts a year in Liza Jessie Peterson's classroom at Island Academy, the high school for inmates detained at New York City's Rikers Island. A poet and actress who had done occasional workshops at the correctional facility, Peterson was ill-prepared for a full-time stint teaching in the GED program for the incarcerated youths. For the first time faced with full days teaching the rambunctious, hyper, and fragile adolescent inmates, "Ms. P" comes to understand the essence of her predominantly Black and Latino students as she attempts not only to educate them, but to instill them with a sense of self-worth long stripped from their lives. "I have quite a spirited group of drama kings, court jesters, flyboy gangsters, tricksters, and wannabe pimps all in my charge, all up in my face, to educate," Peterson discovers. "Corralling this motley crew of bad-news bears to do any lesson is like running boot camp for hyperactive gremlins. I have to be consistent, alert, firm, witty, fearless, and demanding, and most important, I have to have strong command of the subject I'm teaching." Discipline is always a challenge, with the students spouting street-infused backtalk and often bouncing off the walls with pent-up testosterone. Peterson learns quickly that she must keep the upper hand-set the rules and enforce them with rigor, even when her sympathetic heart starts to waver. Despite their relentless bravura and antics-and in part because of it-Peterson becomes a fierce advocate for her students. She works to instill the young men, mostly black, with a sense of pride about their history and culture: from their African roots to Langston Hughes and Malcolm X. She encourages them to explore and express their true feelings by writing their own poems and essays. When the boys push her buttons (on an almost daily basis) she pushes back, demanding that they meet not only her expectations or the standards of the curriculum, but set expectations for themselves-something most of them have never before been asked to do. She witnesses some amazing successes as some of the boys come into their own under her tutelage. Peterson vividly captures the prison milieu and the exuberance of the kids who have been handed a raw deal by society and have become lost within the system. Her time in the classroom teaches her something, too-that these boys want to be rescued. They want normalcy and love and opportunity.