The Daily - Getting Off Rikers Island

Episode Date: April 23, 2020

Across the United States, jails and prisons have become petri dishes for the coronavirus — dangerously cramped, unsanitary quarters where residents lack the resources to keep safe. This has prompted local governments to release thousands of inmates. But who got to go, and who had to stay? And how was that decision made?Today, we hear the story of one inmate trying to get out of the second-largest jail in the country, the Rikers Island prison complex in New York. Guests: Alan Feuer, who covers criminal justice for The New York Times, and Mitch Pomerance, a resident of Rikers Island. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading: For weeks, public defenders warned of a public health catastrophe if inmates weren't released and prisons weren’t sanitized to guard against the coronavirus. Now, the pandemic is hitting jail systems across the country.

From The New York Times, I'm Michael Bavaro. This is The Daily. Well, some call it the most dangerous place on the planet when it comes to facing a coronavirus outbreak. A packed county jail could be a disaster waiting to happen. Across the U.S. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department says... In Chicago, the Cook County Jail has. Here New York calls for quick action now growing louder. Jails and prisons with their cramped quarters and communal living have become hotbeds for the spread of the

coronavirus. Prisoners are sounding the alarm on the ballooning outbreak, writing messages on windows reading help., we matter, and we're dying. Everybody is losing their minds, not just the detainees, but also people that are working there. We cannot change the fundamental nature of jail. We cannot socially distance dozens of elderly men living in a dorm, sharing a bathroom. Think of a cruise ship recklessly boarding more passengers each day.

Think of a cruise ship recklessly boarding more passengers each day. Prompting local governments to take the unprecedented step of releasing thousands of inmates. People are confined to their homes, but this pandemic is actually bringing freedom to some New York City inmates. And raising the fraught question of who is let out and who remains in custody. Today, Megan Toohey speaks with our colleague Alan Foyer about the story of one inmate trying to get out of the second largest jail in the country, Rikers Island in New York. It's Thursday, April 23rd. So Alan, tell me about Mitch Pomerantz.

So, Alan, tell me about Mitch Pomerantz. So I met Mitch Pomerantz through his lawyer, Laura Arasso. And Mitch is 54. And before the virus even landed at Rikers, Mitch was already in bad health. In fact, his health was so bad at one point that he had to be transported off the island to a nearby hospital where he underwent surgery to drain fluid from his lungs. And so he's been working with Laura, his lawyer, trying to build a case to get off of Rikers Island. Hey, Mitch, can you hear me? Yes. And we recorded three of their conversations over the course of a week earlier this month.

So, you know, like I had told you a little bit about earlier, regarding today, we were in line all day for the writ to be heard. But unfortunately, you know, the court only goes to 4.30 and they weren't able to squeeze it in on the calendar. The court system, don't forget, has more or less shut down because of the pandemic. Right. And on the day that we recorded our first call with Mitch, there wasn't indeed a backlog in the court system,

and the judge didn't have time to hear Mitch's case. And while Mitch is waiting for the judge to hear his case, what is the situation like for him inside the jail? I know your sister told me that somebody else in your dorm had been taken out. So Mitch is housed in a dorm at Rikers, and that means that he lives with a dozen or so inmates in one open room. And he tells his lawyer that one person in that dorm has tested positive for COVID-19. Yes, we were tested again the other day,

and it turns out that at least one is a carrier. So this guy actually, although he has no symptoms, he actually has a disease, they say, and he can pass it on to the rest of us. And so they took him out today, and it's real scary because no one was told. Mitch is also telling his lawyer here that the staff at Rikers hasn't cleaned the dorms since that person tested positive.

So what did they, did they just test you and leave, or did they do any, did they clean or sanitize or anything? They didn't clean. They didn't even empty the garbage yet. We have garbage overflowing, all the garbage pails, and they didn't't clean. They didn't even empty the garbage yet. We have garbage overflowing, all the garbage pails, and they didn't even clean. They gave us a new chest two days ago, three days ago, and he's the only one. He's the only one they told us about so far. And, you know, so I'm sure I'm positive there's more. I'm praying it's not me. I mean, was he wearing a mask or anything?

No, never. They gave us one mask for the whole week yesterday, last night. My mask fell apart like four days ago. I had no mask. I've had no mask for four days. And how does that description of the conditions, at least in his particular dorm, how does that square with what you've learned in your reporting? Well, from the start of the crisis, the Department of Corrections has taken several measures to slow the spread of the virus. They've asked inmates to sleep head to toe at night. You know, they wanted to get one mouth and nose as far away from another mouth and nose as far away from another

mouth and nose as they could. They had the cleaning staff clean the common areas and the housing areas as best as possible. But the fact is, conditions at Rikers remain very unsanitary. You know, inmates can't get hand sanitizer because it's an alcohol-based product and they're not allowed to have alcohol. Oftentimes, the only way for them to get soap for their own personal hygiene is to buy it in the commissary. So these measures that were put in place to stop the spread of the virus haven't always worked. I mean, how close? I know you guys sleep like in pretty close proximity. How close do you think you work in? About five feet, six feet from me.

He sleeps. He slept over the next aisle over one person over. Wow. Yeah. How do you feel? Like, how do your lungs feel? I know, you know, you're going through it too. Where they operate is real, it hurts a lot.

So it sounds like Mitch's risk of getting COVID-19 is really high. Yes. But in fact, Mitch's lawyer, Laura, expects they could get a decision from the judge very soon about the question of his release. And hopefully we get a result tomorrow, but we can talk more about that, okay? Okay, thank you so much for everything. I appreciate the help. I'll be talking to you tomorrow. All right, stay well. Okay. Good luck. Thank you. But when they talked the next day... Hey, can you hear me?

Yeah. She's got some bad news. She and her team went in front of the judge. They argued the case. And the judge has said no. Mitch can't get out. Hmm. Trying to do it as quickly as possible. I realized that someone else who was sleeping next to you had tested positive.

Someone else? Not someone else. Four people. Wow. So they came back today had tested positive? Someone else. Not someone else. Four people. Wow. So they came back today with the test? Four people. Today. This is crazy.

This is absolutely crazy. They're killing us. They are killing us. What are we supposed to do? What do we do? We need to file a writ. I need to get out of here. I need to get out of here.

They're killing me. If I catch this, I'm dead. I don't know what to do. We need somebody to step in. We need somebody important to step in, a congressman, a senator, somebody, a court, a judge, somebody got to do something for us, somebody. So by this point, Rikers has already released hundreds of inmates. Correct. So how are they deciding who stays and who goes? Well, so far they've released 650 people. And of those 650 people, you're generally talking about three different categories of inmates. First, there are those who have been accused of nonviolent, low-level offenses.

There are also people who are at Rikers serving what's called a city year, a sentence that is short, less than a year. And so they're about to get out anyhow. And then there's a third category of people who are at the island because they've committed a technical violation of their parole, meaning they were out on parole for a previous crime and they

got caught doing something minor like smoking a joint or drinking a beer on their sidewalk. So how does Mitch fit into this picture? So the challenge for Mitch is that his case is just a lot more complicated. Mitch has served a combined 22 years in prison for selling drugs and committing multiple robberies. The state considers him a violent offender. He got out of prison in 2018, but then last summer, he was re-arrested for an attempted robbery charge while he was on parole. So Mitch just doesn't really fit neatly into any of those categories for people that were getting off Rikers Island. Right. And yet he's medically

vulnerable, which is another factor that judges are weighing in releasing people from Rikers and that the city itself is prioritizing people like that. Those people who, if they catch COVID-19, they're more likely to die. We're trying to put as much pressure on the governor, on New York State docs, on Commissioner Annucci to release everyone and release them safely. I mean, I don't care about everyone. I want to get out. I'm trying to get myself out. I don't care about anybody else. want to get out. I'm trying to get myself out. I don't care about anybody else. Everyone else is not sick like I am.

I'm going to die if I have this. If I get it, I'm going to die. Simple as that. Simple as that. Let's not play games. I'm going to die. I don't care about anybody else right now. I'm being selfish about this.

selfish about this. So Mitch represents this really difficult but interesting tension that a lot of courts are facing across the country right now. Does he pose too much of a risk to public safety to be let out? Or is he medically vulnerable enough to be let out? Should judges be prioritizing the safety of the public? Or should they's request to get out of Rikers, is putting considerations of public safety above his health. Yeah, absolutely. So what does Mitch say about that? Hey, Mitch. Alan Foyer from the New York Times.

How are you? I'm okay, I guess. Okay. It's horrible here. Well, I asked him. I just put it to him if he was a public safety threat, given his rap sheet. Well, let me ask you this. Yes, sir. safety threat given his rap sheet. Well, let me ask you this. Is there any way you can understand a judge's decision? You know, it's an attempted robbery charge, not saying, you know, you haven't

been proven guilty yet, but can you understand how a judge might make the decision that's been made here? Can I understand? Yes, I can understand. I can, without a doubt. If a judge might make the decision that's been made here? Can I understand? Yes, I can understand. I can, without a doubt. The judge doesn't want to jump out the window and grant anything for fear of me going out, doing another crime, committing another crime. So again, I do understand that. I absolutely do. But, you know, I can't see anything more than, look at my proof, you know? Do you see yourself as a threat to public safety?

I don't. I don't. Explain that to me. I can't walk first off. I'm in a wheelchair. If I can get up and walk two steps, it would be a miracle. I can't walk. I mean, just look at the proof of what I have, you know, at least with a clear conscience, look at it with open eyes, and then make a miracle. I can't walk. I mean, just look at the proof of what I have,

you know, at least with a clear conscious look at it, with open eyes, and then make a decision. So what happens next? Hey Mitch, can you hear me? Yes, I can. Mitch and Laura talked again the day after the judge denied his request to leave Rikers. All right, so what did they tell you when they gave you your test? So just five minutes ago, the RN came and he came around the dorm.

And of the 10 people, the 12 people we have left in the dorm, everyone's positive but three people. So now we're positive and we don't know what's going to happen. Mitch tests positive for COVID-19. Wow. three people. So now we're positive and we don't know what's going to happen. Mitch tests positive for COVID-19. Wow. Now there's so many people that are positive, I'm writing this down. They have, it's out of control. It's out of control. I don't feel good at all. I'm having problem breathing already. I told them I'm having problem breathing this morning.

Okay. Well, I mean, we're going to move fast on this. I just was actually on the phone. So is that it? Is Mitch out of options? Well, what this does, the change that this makes in Mitch's case from a legal perspective is that it allows Laura, his lawyer, to make a totally different argument in front of the judge. Laura, his lawyer, to make a totally different argument in front of the judge. Now, instead of just saying that Mitch is potentially at risk of contracting the disease, she can argue that because he already has it and he's got this terrible pre-existing condition

in his lungs, that he's not going to be able to get the proper medical care he needs at Rikers Island. I'm going to try to, I'm going to get these papers filed today, and I'm not going to wait for the other affirmations. So we're going to handle this. And this definitely needs to be, you know, re-argued in light of this fact. Okay. So just concentrate right now, trying to take care of yourself, you know, your mental health, your physical health. So I'm going to be in touch. Call me at the end of the day, you know, and I can confirm with you that I was able to finish that up and get it filed. OK.

All right. OK. Bye. Take care. These jails, like Navy ships or meat processing plants, they're petri dishes for infection. But unlike service members or essential workers, inmates in jails, they aren't necessarily the most sympathetic population in the world.

Still, should part of their punishment be to potentially contract a disease like COVID-19? I mean, is that supposed to be included in the price of going to jail? Mitch is still there at Rikers, waiting for an answer. So, help me understand right now what an ordinary average day of yours looks like today. Well, I need help. I need help showering. So, there's this guy, Eddie, who helps me shower. He helps me get in and out of the shower in the morning time when he gets up. Take a shower, have breakfast, go back to bed for a couple of hours, take my medication, just do a lot of reading. That's it. I try to stay in contact with my family on the phone. And how are you feeling these days? You know, I'm a little agitated right now, but, you know,

any time I move around, it's hard for me to breathe. So right now I'm trying to draw breath. I have a real bad headache right now. You have one minute left. I'm just trying to get out of here. I just want to live again. You know, that's it. Well, Alan, thank you so much for taking the time to share this with us.

Well, thanks for having me, Megan. We'll be right back. Here's what else you need to know today. Here's what else you need to know today. In a major discovery, public health officials in California now say that the coronavirus killed a resident there on February 6th. That discovery changes the timeline of the virus in the U.S. by revealing that infections began much earlier than previously thought. by revealing that infections began much earlier than previously thought. Until now, the first U.S. death was believed to have occurred in Washington state on February 26, about three weeks later.

The February 6 death in the town of Santa Clara is believed to be the result of community spread, suggesting that the virus was circulating on the West Coast well before public health officials had realized. And the Times reports that Chinese government operatives were involved in spreading false warnings to Americans about an impending national lockdown in March. The warnings, which arrived as text messages and social media posts, alarmed millions of Americans. U.S. officials said that the tactics resembled past attempts by Russia

to widen social divisions within the U.S. That's it for The Daily. I'm Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.