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Kalief Browder paid 'terrible price' for solitary confinement, justice says Kalief Browder paid 'terrible price' for solitary confinement, justice says
(35 minutes later)
Writing a concurring opinion in a supreme court ruling that reinstated a California man’s death sentence, Justice Anthony Kennedy on Thursday invoked the recent death of a young man who spent three years in jail without trial to make another point: the use of solitary confinement “exacts a terrible price”.Writing a concurring opinion in a supreme court ruling that reinstated a California man’s death sentence, Justice Anthony Kennedy on Thursday invoked the recent death of a young man who spent three years in jail without trial to make another point: the use of solitary confinement “exacts a terrible price”.
Kalief Browder, a 22-year-old Bronx man who spent three years confined at Rikers Island without a trial, died by suicide on 6 June after long battles with depression and paranoia which began during his incarceration, during which he spent long stretches in solitary confinement.Kalief Browder, a 22-year-old Bronx man who spent three years confined at Rikers Island without a trial, died by suicide on 6 June after long battles with depression and paranoia which began during his incarceration, during which he spent long stretches in solitary confinement.
In his concurring opinion on the case of Davis v Ayala – in which the justices reinstated Hector Ayala’s conviction and death sentence for a California murder – Kennedy wrote that the plight of prisoners often goes unconsidered by legal scholars and policy makers in discussions that “simply concentrate on the adjudication of guilt or innocence”. In his concurring opinion on the case of Davis v Ayala – in which the justices reinstated Hector Ayala’s conviction and death sentence for a California murder – Kennedy wrote that the plight of prisoners often goes unconsidered by legal scholars and policymakers in discussions that “simply concentrate on the adjudication of guilt or innocence”.
Kennedy cited a New Yorker profile of Browder as part of a “growing awareness in the border public of the subject of corrections and of solitary confinement in particular”. Kennedy cited a New Yorker profile of Browder as part of a “growing awareness in the broader public of the subject of corrections and of solitary confinement in particular”.
Browder was just 16 years old when he was arrested in 2010 on suspicion that he had stolen a backpack. His name became synonymous with disfunction and cruelty in New York’s criminal justice system when the New Yorker’s Jennifer Gonnerman published a story on his protracted legal saga in a November 2014 piece for the magazine. Browder told Gonnerman that he was still dealing with the traumatic effects of his incarceration many months after his release in June 2013, describing himself as “mentally scarred”. Browder was just 16 years old when he was arrested in 2010 on suspicion that he had stolen a backpack. His name became synonymous with dysfunction and cruelty in New York’s criminal justice system when the New Yorker’s Jennifer Gonnerman published a story on his protracted legal saga in a November 2014 piece for the magazine. Browder told Gonnerman that he was still dealing with the traumatic effects of his incarceration many months after his release in June 2013, describing himself as “mentally scarred”.
Although US citizens are constitutionally guaranteed the right to a speedy trial, many defendants are held for extremely long periods of time due to loopholes which can pause what is commonly referred to as the “speedy trial clock”. According to a New York City criminal court report, the average wait time for a trial in New York in 2013 was 594 days.Although US citizens are constitutionally guaranteed the right to a speedy trial, many defendants are held for extremely long periods of time due to loopholes which can pause what is commonly referred to as the “speedy trial clock”. According to a New York City criminal court report, the average wait time for a trial in New York in 2013 was 594 days.
On Wednesday, two New York State lawmakers introduced Kalief’s Law, which would attempt to remove some of these loopholes from the state’s trial proceedings.On Wednesday, two New York State lawmakers introduced Kalief’s Law, which would attempt to remove some of these loopholes from the state’s trial proceedings.