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  • PRESS RELEASE
    24, October 2019
    LatinoJustice Applauds New York City’s Decision to Close Rikers and Move One Step Close to a Cageless Society

LatinoJustice Applauds New York City’s Decision to Close Rikers and Move One Step Close to a Cageless Society

Location
New York, NY

CONTACT: Christiaan Perez, [email protected], 212-739-7581

New York, NY – Earlier today, the New York City Council held a vital vote on the plan to close Rikers. This vote was the result of many years of public pressure and organizing by impacted people. LatinoJustice applauds the results of today’s vote. Juan Cartagena, President and General Counsel at LatinoJustice PRLDEF, issued the following response:  

We at LatinoJustice PRLDEF are grateful for the leadership of formerly impacted people and the wisdom of the New York City Council in enacting a hard-fought-for comprehensive plan to Close Rikers and move our great city one step closer to a cageless society. We were only able to reach this point because of the tireless advocacy of directly impacted people, especially those who had experienced the brutality of Rikers first hand, who shed a light on the injustice of our criminal justice system and raised their voice to call for an end to the barbarity that is Rikers.

LatinoJustice PRLDEF has been a steadfast supporter of the closure of Rikers for years. We have attended rallies, written op-eds, shown up in solidarity with many of the leading advocates in the City. The movement to close Rikers – a place of danger and trauma – has been led by people who know its walls, its violence, and its history. Today’s vote is a momentous step towards investing in communities and re-envisioning a society that does not dehumanize its people with incarceration. We know the fight does not stop here, we will keep fighting to roll back the policies that continue to criminalize black and brown communities until none of our people are held in prison. We have made great strides, but those strides will not bring us across the finish line unless we keep moving forward. P’alante, mi gente.  

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LatinoJustice PRLDEF works to create a more just society by using and challenging the rule of law to secure transformative, equitable and accessible justice, by empowering our community and by fostering leadership through advocacy and education. For more than 40 years, LatinoJustice PRLDEF has acted as an advocate against injustices throughout New York and beyond. To learn more about LatinoJustice, visit www.latinojustice.org.