Congress, court pressure New York City to fix jails crisis

By MICHAEL R. SISAK
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City is facing mounting pressure to solve its spiraling jail crisis, with members of Congress calling for a federal civil rights investigation and a court-appointed monitor blasting the city for a failure of leadership amid staggering violence, self-harm and the deaths this year of at least 12 inmates. U.S. District Judge Laura Swain, overseeing a jail consent decree, said on an emergency conference call Friday that the city’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex is “clearly in a state of danger and crisis.” On the call, lawyers for inmates and city government debated the monitor’s latest recommendations for reversing deteriorating conditions and debilitating staff absences.