Incarceration Is a Deadly Health Risk: Former Chief Medical Officer of NYC Jails Speaks Out

democracynow.org - The former chief medical officer of New York City jails has just published a remarkable new book about the health risks of incarceration. The book is titled “Life and Death in Rikers Island.” Dr. Homer Venters offers unprecedented insight into what happens inside prison walls to create new health risks for incarcerated men and women, including neglect, blocked access to care, physical and sexual violence, and brutality by corrections officers. Venters further reveals that when inmates become ill, are injured or even die in custody, the facts of the incident are often obscured. We speak to Dr. Venters and Jennifer Gonnerman, staff writer for The New Yorker magazine.
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[@MilesBellas]

jail rape is not a joke it is also crime with potentially deadly repercussions

[@starcrib]

travesty. our system is evil. and the prison system is especially horrific. Rikers island: a snake pit of decomposition of ethics and morality in the officers.

[@JEMurl]

Yes. It is utterly indifferent.

[@sosuapimp8449]

Dont commit crime and you won't come to Rikers,its not rocket science libtards

[@JEMurl]

Sosua Pimp= Believe it or not: citizens who commit crimes, Are still Citizens, yeah i know right! Shocker! They still have Human Right! 😲 wow whatta surpsrise.

[@JEMurl]

Sosua Pimp: i wish someone would break your son the way You sorry excuses for humans broke that boy, till the day he killed himself. THEN you would feel the pain that boy's Mother felt when she found him. You indifferent & merciless turds will die one day, and what will await you then? Vengeance, for all the injustices you've committed, for all the times you passed up (turn the other way) while someone violated another. I hope you reflect, and convert to Mercy, away from mercilesness.

[@kaiman6539]

All those movies and series about american judicial system , this is an image shattering case , a man held without conviction is not American it s dictatorship

[@DoveGirl]

Yep

[@princeofnilevalley6578]

The saddest part of this story is, there are many who are lacked up without real conviction. There'll be more to come

[@NicholasLittlejohn]

Prison murders your soul and private prisons should be illegal. Write and call your governor and reps.

[@65minimom]

Nicholas Littlejohn - Yes, private prisons - : horrific

[@a.t.oliver2440]

Private jails/prisons a form of or a return to slavery...

[@sosuapimp8449]

We need prisons to lock up scumbags, there not all innocent angels.

[@a.t.oliver2440]

They are..., Sosua, not there...

[@hollyinhell]

crying now. I have been in prison and spent time in isolation, but this is as bad as it gets.

[@danielsteel5251]

@Alex Gonzalez And what if someone mistakenly accuses you of stealing a backpack?

[@galejones7598]

SO SAD THANK YOU FOR SHEDDING LIGHT, MANY PRAYERS/BLESSINGS!

[@justathought973]

Yeah! because, that's always worked.. Critical Thinking kzbin.info/www/bejne/bICvgX9rpZWZg8k The Bible and New Testament kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6CQin9jodtmiLs kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqW0Y4eJZqicers

[@FaePanx]

Everyone should know that the rate of death while incarcerated is higher than the general population

[@jsunsuliaman2014]

it's amazing that this is not getting the cover it deserves but I think it is because it's mostly black In the jails

[@merced121]

YOU DO KNOW THAT PRIVATE PRISONS ARE A CONSTANT MONEY MAKING VENTURE; THEY'LL MAKE & FAKE CHARGES ON ANYONE WHO LOOKS LIKE AN EZ TARGET. EDUCATE YOUR KIDS TO STAY AWAY FROM DIRTY COPS.

[@randomvegan3561]

It's because prisons are for profit and the rich have bought the Congress and the media to ensure they can continue to profit off of blacks and the poor.

[@purpleglitter9596]

@For the Love of my peoples 4life Not nearly enough considering it is a genocidal activity.

[@jsunsuliaman2014]

@For the Love of my peoples 4life I think you misunderstand what I'm saying I mean coverage is it needs to be more we hear more about other bullshit then anything there is a systemic problem when it comes to these prison systems all of them

[@connieinthesun7881]

Thank you so much for covering this very important topic.

[@amranaadan1112]

So many injustices; my heart weeps for you Khalifa, RIP, I am so sorry for you. This is still going on, what inhumane and immoral treatment of people

[@Patrick.Edgar.Regini]

THANK YOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH !! 😢

[@jackiek710]

TRUTH!

[@Hannah82271]

Incarcerations are to cause suffering and Slave labor. It is pure evil ~ peace and love for us all ♥️

[@Amy-zb6ph]

God bless the doctors who take the oath of doing no harm seriously!

[@z.s.7992]

We have placed a profit motive on incarceration. Of course people are going to get hurt or be treated poorly. It costs money to treat people decently and that cuts into the shareholder's profits.

[@manuelmamann5035]

USA is the poorest richest nation in the world. We all grieve for the looses US citizen have become so custom to.

[@dbrown3805]

To have everything but - yet have nothing.

[@vicmorrison8128]

Look...this stuff has been known forever. Staff has been silent due to threats and intimidation much like our present National Hospital situation. Good report. Wake up.

[@loisstenner123]

Worked on a prison padded cell wing , mainly for potentially violent psychiatric prisoners. I was dumping their food trays on the floor etc.They brought one prisoner in one day who just seemed very confused. I would read him his letters from mum and sister. He didnt understand what I was reading to him . He would defecate in his cell , I would clean it up. I knew he wasnt mad , I thought there was something medically wrong with him. I kept telling the Guard that he wasnt mental, just sick. After about 5 weeks one day I am brought to the wing and he is gone. He was taken to hospital and then he died of a brain tumour. UK prisons are medically bad too.

[@jsunsuliaman2014]

I would appreciate if somebody looking to Colorado's Adam County Jail because they have a lot of deaths that are on a counter for

[@ShareefusMaximus]

I made it 1 minute in, I can't even watch this. I've been thinking about this so long, lost so many friends and family members, some to Rikers itself, I can't keep letting thoughts of the cruelty and inhumainty of my counrty and neighbors continue to darken all of my days. Pass the blue pill.

[@BoydGilbreath]

It's not Riker's Island, it'd people. People make the things happen everywhere, and overall the level of corruption, cruelty, neglect, greed, etc. is pretty depressing. Human's are very flawed. Over two million people in jail in the USA. Absolutely ridiculous.

[@haysd2you]

This young man and American citizen did not deserve this. NO Human Being deserves this. The first step of change acknowledges there is a problem. We are better than this and so are the wrongly imprisoned. Deep sympathies to the family and friends of Kalief Browder and others suffering under an illegal legal system.

[@Monk-Amani.]

Dr. Homer Venters entered the system a decade ago, He immediately tried to rectify the injustices within. Unfortunately, the system was inplace before he was. "Do jails kill people". In their way Worth reading? Yes. Should the correctional system be reviewed? Yes.

[@gondolacrescent5]

Murderers usually attempt to hide the fact they’ve killed someone. How is that complicated to understand?

[@aldemir6127]

I thought I was living in America not the hell of the universe the China.

[@merced121]

Al Demir CHINA TOOK A CLUE FROM THE U.S.

[@aldemir6127]

@@merced121 Probably, but regardless and some how and some reason always the people suffer not the management, and not the government.

[@abc-hi6df]

What a belligerent statement. Have you ever been to China moron????? Stop going by media reports, reality is different. Go to Shanghai and see the development and erase yourself of your sinophobia. China has risen to superpower status for the 4th time now and never once historically has in colonised any other nation. To claim China is the "hell" of the world is just showing what a generic wank you actually are. Try reading a historical text and stop going by your fat gut instinct.

[@rinamarie116]

Suicide is not a crime, suicide prevention organizations nation wide are moving towards using “died by suicide” or “completed suicide” vs the phrase “commit suicide” in an effort to reduce stigma.

[@twylacastaneda7117]

The only thing worse than the criminal justice system is the child welfare service department. I spent 10 days in jail while pregnant. my first day I filled out papers saying I was pregnant and wanted clinic visits and the pregnancy meals (a whopping extra 500 calories a day) I received one extra meal my last day. Never did see a nurse or doctor. Was not given prenatal vitamins or adequate water either...

[@sehastasejengkal7565]

Just for stealing a backpack? And they say Sharia Law is cruel. Read sharia law and look how it is nearly impossible to charge a person.

[@The.End.Begins24]

We need a nation.

[@elke1942]

What a disgrace to the US.

[@fresnobob2886]

16:00 The prison system is so internal in its affairs, it can easily compare to the church.

[@ericrobinson7184]

Thugs in uniforms run the prison, they set the boundaries between what staff can see and not see as relevant to their job, medical staff included. If you open a new jail, and move the staff a brand new billion dollar facility, you'll have the same problem. Ricker's Island is a death trap, a relic of darker days: Can we simply move on to better facilities staff and training?

[@goodtohaveinajam8148]

Prison corporations need to be ended. Thinly veiled slavery, creating billions for these jackals, work that could be supporting families instead. Christ, it's that lack of legitimate work that drives communities to drugs and crimes. We demand to be treated fairly, law enforcement and the judiciary must be held in check and regulated.

[@onecardshort2934]

@ 20:16 Amy reaches for something (a cough drop?) that someone crawling on the ground gives to her, or maybe there is a drawer or other cubby there. @ 20:19 you can hear her off camera opening it. Am I cray?

[@princeofnilevalley6578]

I hardly doubt he took his own life. I'm almost certain they took him out for exposing their wickedness!!

[@REELFEEDMEDIA]

sounds like nz mecp prison contractor run.

[@tanyawilliams1887]

'delusional'= when your argument is shredded #FactsNotFeelings

[@MrSalty-ks5pb]

It’s was police who put him there in the first place.

[@51vvince]

LAND OF THE FREE

[@tomjohn8733]

The solution is simple end poverity and stop discriminating and help all people instead of findinging reasons for every little reason and red tape...with the coming storm we'll need everyone if this country is going yo survive. Change is in the wind as evident by yhese reports. I love this station. We need change..

[@getitwright2012]

Sad it was his own people

[@adiposerex5150]

Jim Crow alive and well.

[@nickosmann8178]

he was targeted ...

[@emiliobello2538]

He’s an African American not a thief

[@bichhuonglove70]

Backpack wtf

[@paddymaguire1703]

Another Devils Island. Thanks, Democracy Now!

[@whylogicalthinking]

No shit

[@louisfortin7824]

Americans hire to many goons who enjoy unrestricted violence as sheriffs cops ect.

[@RNFORLAW]

There is no more Humanity in this World. Animals over humans ANY day ~

[@tanyawilliams1887]

NYS Penal Code has an Incredibly rigid schedule for crim cases MUST be resolved within the first SIX MONTHS. Amy is NOT telling the truth here!

[@cococherrymango1225]

why would she be lying? Despite being's rigid, you think they follow codes?

[@tanyawilliams1887]

@@cococherrymango1225 #1 Rikers is not a max prison. The max stay is 1 yr. #2 Its NOT possible for anyone to be held without a schedule for hearings or trial. #3 NYC is run by LW Loonies...there is NO possibility this story is true.

[@hollyinhell]

you don't even know what you're talking about! I guess you've never heard of waiving your right to a speedy trial. Most waivers are signed because your counsel pressures you to do so. Attorneys are beyond swamped and in order to get your legal defense ready for adequate representation they need the time. Public defenders are even more busy. This boy was not even charged with a crime, therefore his paperwork fell through the cracks. This is not the first case of this situation happening on Rikers. Please be mindful that when you leave an ignorant comment, that you will be schooled by those who are well informed. If you don't like this fact, then do your damn research before you start commenting.

[@tanyawilliams1887]

@@hollyinhell ACTUALLY, I was a paralegal in the Queen's DA Office for 5 years. Sooooo I kinda DO know what I'm taking about. She's pushing the VICTIMHOOD virus and YOU are inhaling the vapors. Take a seat.

[@IndiaAniya25]

I am a paralegal as well. You don't know everything. Did you work on his case? Do you work at Rikers? You sound extremely ignorant. There was a documentary on this young man. I am pretty sure it would have been objected if it wasn't sure since you claim there is just no way. As a paralegal you should def know nothing goes as written. Especially in inner city courts and jails.

[@bim-ska-la-bim4433]

Well if you'd just not CLOWN when in regular society...

[@michaelwagner30]

Dude, what's wrong with Amy in this segment?

[@hollyinhell]

hungover

[@veronicat4517]

You know she had a stroke not long ago.

[@michaelwagner30]

Veronica T noooo, I did not know that. Glad she's there seemingly doing ok.

[@michaelwagner30]

We all fall down, It’s about how we get back up I just thought she was fumbling a lot of words and speaking kind of strangely.

[@babycakes2077]

No more prisons! No more punishment! FEMINISM 💪🏽🙏🏽❤️