Locked Up and Left Behind: Hurricane Irene and the Prisoners on New York`s Rikers Island

I'd be all for leaving the murderers, rapists, and pedophiles behind, but some kid doing time for a drug charge doesn't deserve to be locked in a cage like an animal and left to drown. Not all criminals should be condemned the same.

Not everything is in black and white. Just because someone has broken the law does not mean that they shouldn't have their lives respected.

Originally posted by spoor

Originally posted by queenofsheba
reply to post by Signals

 

They are somebody's brother, son, grandson, nephew

and they murdered/raped/robbed/assaulted etc someone's brother/father/nephew/sister etc

And what are we talking here? What kind of offense? You think everyone serving time in prison is a rapist/murderer? Ever here of drug charges? You don't think those guys in prison on drug raps don't have a field day with the peds???? Know what you're talking about before making the big all encompassing assumption....so short-sighted and sad.

Originally posted by Signals
reply to post by billy197300

 

Then we should probably just line them up in front of firing squads and get it over with, right?

On a side note, how did you know how old my daughter is?

Creepy....

It depends entirely on the crime. Some people aren't even good enough for a firing squad IMO. That would be an easy way out for them. Just let them rot in a cell forever. BTW I had no idea that you even had a daughter lol, just a hypothetical situation to try and make my point.

reply to post by Signals


Bloomberg is doing this simply for the publicity. It makes him look good if he's overly concerned. If there was a real emergency he would have evacuated them.

Originally posted by Signals

Locked Up and Left Behind: Hurricane Irene and the Prisoners on New York`s Rikers Island

solitarywatch.com

“We are not evacuating Rikers Island,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a news conference this afternoon. Bloomberg annouced a host of extreme measures being taken by New York City in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Irene, including a shutdown of the public transit system and the unprecedented mandatory evacuation of some 250,000 people from low-lying areas. But in response to a reporter’s question, the mayor stated in no uncertain terms (and with more than a hint of annoyance) that one

(visit the link for the full news article)

As someone who has worked inside of many prisons I can assure you these prison complexes are VERY sturdy and can most definitely handle a level 1 hurricane...

They are not built like any office building or apartment complex...they are built like bunkers...virtually no windows or breakable glass. Almost all clear class is bullet proof and all exterior glass is extremely durable plexiglass reinforced with metal grated exteriors...

These inmates are safer then ANYWHERE they could possibly "Evacuate" them to...transporting inmates (~12000) is quite possibly the most dangerous thing you could do for the inmates, the staff, and the general public...

evacuating them in every perspective would be completely unnecessary risk for all parties involved.

Originally posted by kro32
reply to post by Signals

 

Bloomberg is doing this simply for the publicity. It makes him look good if he's overly concerned. If there was a real emergency he would have evacuated them.

That's even sadder....but at least you changed your avatar from winkin' Sarah P. to...well, something slightly better.

Originally posted by queenofsheba

Originally posted by spoor

Originally posted by queenofsheba
reply to post by Signals

 

They are somebody's brother, son, grandson, nephew

and they murdered/raped/robbed/assaulted etc someone's brother/father/nephew/sister etc

And what are we talking here? What kind of offense? You think everyone serving time in prison is a rapist/murderer? Ever here of drug charges? You don't think those guys in prison on drug raps don't have a field day with the peds???? Know what you're talking about before making the big all encompassing assumption....so short-sighted and sad.

Sooooo, by that logic the guy that sold someones kid the heroin they overdosed on should not be treated like the murderers because he's there for selling drugs? I don't see it.

n/m

Originally posted by billy197300

Originally posted by queenofsheba

Originally posted by spoor

Originally posted by queenofsheba
reply to post by Signals

 

They are somebody's brother, son, grandson, nephew

and they murdered/raped/robbed/assaulted etc someone's brother/father/nephew/sister etc

And what are we talking here? What kind of offense? You think everyone serving time in prison is a rapist/murderer? Ever here of drug charges? You don't think those guys in prison on drug raps don't have a field day with the peds???? Know what you're talking about before making the big all encompassing assumption....so short-sighted and sad.

Sooooo, by that logic the guy that sold someones kid the heroin they overdosed on should not be treated like the murderers because he's there for selling drugs? I don't see it.

People do not choose to be killed, molested, or raped. They do choose to inject poison into themselves.

just wanted to reiterate this part...

to mention pre-trial detainees who have yet to be convicted of any crime. There are also hundreds of corrections officers at work on the island.

and also point out that a castle is only as strong as its foundations. If the island washes out due to storm surge, it doesn't matter how strong the walls and windows are.

People sure love their vengeance and blood.

Disgusting some of the responses I read everyday. When we start picking and choosing who it is okay to torture and kill, instead of condemning it ......we end up with..well the USA..the largest prison population in the world. A country hellbent on violence.

Peace

reply to post by billy197300


And what if the ones that didn't do anything like that? Gonna retry them all yourself before you let them drowned?

With all due respect to several posters already on this thread, I think you are missing the point.

It doesn't matter what category this storm turns out to be or how much damage / lives lost it actually causes.

Bloomberg made a decision for mandatory evacuations of 250,000 people, but doesn't believe anybody on Riker's Island's life is as important...

Another point I'd like to make is how about putting the prisoners in orange jumpsuits to help with the clean-up and relief workers? Cheap labor, that's for sure.

It's really sad to see some ATS members content to see people left out of rescue / evacuations, because of some pre-conceived notion of what kind of people they are.

You'll get on the FEMA train first when they start rounding us all up, right?

A 100 percent agree with the OP.

It is not about the actual outcome of the situation. We all know that Irene is being hyped up and that there will likely be little real damage (although I am not counting it out.) Those prisoners are probably completely safe.

The point of the matter is, if you are going to call a mandatory evacuation, then you better damn well have a good reason to call it. Either a) Mayor Bloomberg was callously leaving behind 12,000 people to die in a giant storm or b) he was needlessly calling for a mandatory evacuation when he knew that in reality, there was no real danger and that he was wasting people's time (and money) in order not to sacrifice his own image.

In the end, it was about Mayor Bloomberg choosing the most convenient option for him, the one that would make him look "thoughtful", and not concerning himself with the people's wasted time and energy. It's political b$ and it makes me angry. If he had evacuated the prisoners, I would have agreed with his decision, but in the end, he knew all along that NY was likely safe.

Sorry, but I'm going to be the one that is all for letting them stay and drown. If you screw up enough to land in a prison, that's your fault. Guess I'm all for capitol punishment. I don't see it as a problem anyway, even if I was all gung-ho for queen sized beds, because this hurricane is barely a breeze on the scale of what it could be.
And no, if it were my brother or sister in a cell... I would have kicked his # before I turned him in myself, then told him he shouldn't have been stupid. Stupid is as stupid does. Yeah, they are human beings, sure... but when you willingly and knowingly take the rights away from someone else... some people deserve to get left behind. I will concede one point... not EVERYONE deserves it. Petty crimes where people weren't hurt... But from the sounds of it, the majority of that island doesn't hold petty criminals. And yes, I'm sure there will be plenty of backlash about this, and no, I don't really care. It's my personal opinion and feelings towards criminals.

...people affected by the mandatory evacuation paid their own way out... inmates cannot transport themselves or pay for the costs... the category of the hurricane DOES matter... so does basic econmics...

reply to post by billy197300


Actually, I have a friend that had a problem with vandalism. His car would get keyed or they would break a window.

Well, one day he caught the guy red handed. Tempers flailing he ran up to the guy with a knife (I know, not the smartest move).

Well, the guy ran. Nothing happened but the next day, the cops arrested him b/c the victim (the guy scratching the car) called the police and reported that my friend pulled a knife on him.

Guess where he ended up serving his six month sentence. That's right, Rikers Island. You don't have to be a hardcore murderer to serve time in Rikers. Anyways, every body here saying f...'em or thinking that they are all murderers should get their info straight before posting BS comments about how they should all be treated like dogs.

Me personally, I would have kicked that dude's ass and called it a day and probably wouldn't have gone to jail.

Originally posted by CeeRZ
Sorry, but I'm going to be the one that is all for letting them stay and drown. If you screw up enough to land in a prison, that's your fault. Guess I'm all for capitol punishment. I don't see it as a problem anyway, even if I was all gung-ho for queen sized beds, because this hurricane is barely a breeze on the scale of what it could be.
And no, if it were my brother or sister in a cell... I would have kicked his # before I turned him in myself, then told him he shouldn't have been stupid. Stupid is as stupid does. Yeah, they are human beings, sure... but when you willingly and knowingly take the rights away from someone else... some people deserve to get left behind. I will concede one point... not EVERYONE deserves it. Petty crimes where people weren't hurt... But from the sounds of it, the majority of that island doesn't hold petty criminals. And yes, I'm sure there will be plenty of backlash about this, and no, I don't really care. It's my personal opinion and feelings towards criminals.

Uhm... okay, well, if it was my brother or sister, I guess I wouldn't feel the same way about leaving them there, no matter what they did. But everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

reply to post by Wyn Hawks


Sorry but that is the same line of thinking that lead to deaths during Katrina...

reply to post by CeeRZ

but when you willingly and knowingly take the rights away from someone else... some people deserve to get left behind.

Ever heard of political crimes?

Not every crime takes away someone else's rights.



And the OP is sound. If they are doing a mandatory evacuation, you can't say some go some stay. The worst part is that there are pre-trial prisoners there. meaning they haven't even been convicted yet....