Life and Death in Rikers Island

by Homer Venters

Shining a light on the deadly health consequences of incarceration. Finalist in the PROSE Award for Best Book in Anthropology, Criminology, and Sociology by the Association of American Publishers Kalief Browder was 16 when he was arrested in the Bronx for allegedly stealing a backpack. Unable to raise bail and unwilling to plead guilty to a crime he didn't commit, Browder spent three years in New York's infamous Rikers Island jail―two in solitary confinement―while awaiting trial. After his case was dismissed in 2013, Browder returned to his family, haunted by his ordeal. Suffering through the lonely hell of solitary, Browder had been violently attacked by fellow prisoners and corrections officers throughout his incarceration. Consumed with depression, Browder committed suicide in 2015. He was just 22 years old. In Life and Death in Rikers Island , Homer Venters, the former chief medical officer for New York City's jails, explains the profound health risks associated with incarceration. From neglect and sexual abuse to blocked access to care and exposure to brutality, Venters details how jails are designed and run to create new health risks for prisoners―all while forcing doctors and nurses into complicity or silence. Pairing prisoner experiences with cutting-edge research into prison risk, Venters reveals the disproportionate extent to which the health risks of jail are meted out to those with behavioral health problems and people of color. He also presents compelling data on alternative strategies that can reduce health risks. 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Race, Social Justice, Crime, American

200 pages, Paperback

First published February 19, 2019

Reviews

[Ginni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kalief Browder spent three years in Rikers for allegedly stealing a back pack. During his imprisonment he was beaten by both inmates and correctional officers, and spent more than ten months in solitary confinement. His case was dismissed when the complaint against him couldn't be found. Upon his release Browder filed a suit against NYC for wrongful incarceration and the inhumane way he had been treated. He attempted to get on with his life, earning his GED and starting community college, but the horrific ordeal at Rikers caused him to eventually take his life.

This is just one of the victims that Homer Venters writes about in Life and Death in Rikers Island. Venters served as the chief medical officer of NYC jails for nine years. During this time Venters and his team carefully documented the shocking treatment of the inmates at Rikers, focusing on how a time in prison impacts an individual's health. Common scenarios that Venters describes are denial of medication, beatings, sexual abuse, the mentally damaging use of solitary confinement, and death due to these conditions.

Venters shares individual stories about his patients to serve as examples of the harsh treatment that they received. He also delivers a narrative with hard evidence and data. Venters and his team were not without risk while treating patients and gathering evidence. Health care staff routinely endured threats and harassment. They were often pressured to look away, lie, and serve the officers before the patients.

Yes, this is hard material to read. One can not believe that these barbaric conditions exist in 21st jails and prisons. But read it we must if we want these conditions to change. In the last chapters of Life and Death in Rikers Island, Venters provides positive outcomes esulting from prison reforms, suggests transparency in the governance in prisons and jails, and finally insists that Rikers, and prisons like Rikers, must be closed.

[Kristen M.]

I heard Dr. Homer Venters interviewed on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross this spring and it was powerfully captivating. Dr. Venters was the former chief medical officer of Correctional Health Services for NYC jails, including Rikers Island for many years. This book describes the unique dichotomies of attempting to provide health care to inmates who are injured or sick in prison; and then how to determine if those injuries can be defined as 'jail-attributable' and thus liable.

It becomes painfully clear that the pecking order of security services trumps all medical needs in favor of law and order in jail systems. Dr. Venters highlights specific inmate deaths and the challenge of convincing security staff to work in tandem with health services staff instead of in direct opposition to. Extensive data collection and the adoption of EMR (electronic medical records) has improved things somewhat and allowed for Dr. Venters to continue to advocate on behalf of both inmates and staff. Some of his data has been used to advocate for the reduction in the use of solitary confinement.

However, jail is a bleak place to begin with and Dr. Venters does not shy away from tough topics such as severely mentally ill inmates, the use of solitary confinement as a safety measure that ultimately worsens mental health, abuse, rape and the use of aggressive intimidation tactics. This book would not be complete without a thorough mention of Kalief Browder's case, in which Venters provides.

Did you know that Rikers Island uses a PAPER system for intake and registration and all documentation regarding inmates? It boggles the mind.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author provides a fist hand account of the many problems with correctional institutions in regards to mental and medical health provision. A broken system where the word “correction” is a misnomer. The author also provides insight on how changes were implemented yet wrought with frustration in dealing with unions, politics and no regard for fixing the system but rather placing blame on the health care system for being the problem. Interesting read especially in that the author and healthcare colleagues never gave into to the demands of others but rather put the inmates health care as the main priority.

[Adrianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are passionate about Criminal Justice reform or you are interested in the functionality of NYC's famous Rikers Island jail facility, this is suggested reading.

Life and Death in Rikers Island, shines much light on the trauma of being an inmate and employee on the secluded NYC island. Homer Venters discusses the healthcare risks associated with being on this island, some of which include, blocked access to care, brutality and masked deaths.

[Hina Ansari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tough read. In a way, the author does a good job desensitizing the reader from the horrors he’s witnessed. The author casually talks about incarcerated persons being beaten to death. It is quite an eye opener. I’m not sure I’d recommend this book, it’s a lot to take in. But it isn’t too long of a read, so there’s that.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Venters offers his illuminating research on the punishing, deep-rooted violent culture of Rikers Island in layman's terms. An important addition to the current literature on the effects that American mass incarceration has on prisoners, their guards and society as a whole.

[Sushma Boppana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an important read. Got a little repetitive at point but learned a lot. Used data and patient stories to paint a vivid picture of where we’re failing in prisons (spoiler alert- there are a lot of ways in which we need to improve).

[Book Lover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful about the NY criminal justice system. Some of the anecdotes here were hard to read - dark and depressing. But overall, I finished this book knowing more and having a better understanding of the medical issues that plague prisons like Riker’s.

[Kelly Dam · Rating 2 out of 5]

very interesting read about rikers island, but felt rather redundant with no solution. it's powerful in the sense that it's personal stories, but lacks further depth of the long-term. wouldn't read it again

[Rick Pantaleoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really important read, and very disturbing in it's descriptions of the violence in Rikers. A strong argument to those who ask, "why should we close Rikers?"

[Sarah Swong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Venters' description of the "paramilitary nature of jail" is very disturbing; shows how a culture of violence mainly stoked by Rikers' correctional officers leads to so much death and suffering.

[JodiP · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a difficult an dimprotant read about the conditions inRikers Island written by the former medical director. I found it helpful in my work at the jail.

[Eldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those of you in the business, this is thoughtful analysis of the harms caused by incarceration.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

An inside look at the Rikers Island Prision and the problems that seem to permeate the place.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forgot to update, plaguefather's blessing and all. The book is a great look at the state of the NYC prison and the necessity to reform the jails located within the city limits. Eye opening for activists on the ground in the City pushing for the closure of one of the worst prisons in American history. Rikers has a long and rotten genealogy starting as a de-facto debtor prison--that descriptor is definitely not 100% accurate but I'm not sure how to describe a prison that housed the homeless arrested for their current state and those in debt disputes-- and for lack of a better term immigrant stowage of what was considered undesirable european enthinc groups during the rise of industrialization in NYC. The historical context is not to make light of the Browder incident and the present nature of the carceral state but to highlight how long the prison has been a fixture of what is wrong. For those looking for a book that addresses more national prison discussions this might not be as directly useful in your search.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a privilege to hear Homer speak at DOH, and I'm glad he wrote a book about his experiences. The stories are compelling and disturbing. I really appreciate how he insisted on collecting data to make a stronger policy argument.