Kalief Browder 1993-2015

Another unfortunate death of a person incarcerated. To have a person sit in custody without a bail is at best criminal to say the least. The court system in New York State is itself is criminal. I personally have retired from The New York City Department of Correction, and witnessed firsthand the insanity of the court system railroading the poor or disadvantage back and forth between the courts and the jails of New York. My job description was “Care-Custody-Control of the population that was waiting to be sentenced by the New State Court system.

There are laws that state you have to “see” a judge within 24/48 hours. “The right to a speedy…[whatever]. One would see the judge according the law within the prescribed time frame, then sit in DOC custody because you could not make bail, the continuance of a case or remanded [no bail].

I have met people who “work the system”, needing a place to sleep for the winter. There were some who were working their defense and were housed in the Mental Observation unit whether or not they needed to be it was our job to be fair and protect them. The Mental Health System in New York fails miserably to the point the mentally ill know enough seek shelter and getting locked up for the winter is the only option.  One would see the despondent individuals who are clearly depressed longing for their loved ones that were arrested for arguing with law enforcement, go to court, and then the judge gives them some outrages bail amount that the family cannot afford to pay.

I have worked with the adolescents who I found very heart breaking to see young people who are and look very lost. Don’t get me wrong children will be children and can be trying at times. I had adolescents at home as well as work, I never got a brake [for a few years anyway]. As a parent, I could not help but to feel compassion for these young adults and had a watchful eye on my coworkers who may have lost patience with them. One of the ways to keep the young men in check was to distract them with “drop down and give me 50”! They knew it was give 50 pushups or face the unknown. There was nothing to the “unknown” they didn’t know it, but it worked every time.

I did not know of Kalief Browder, I knew many Kaleif Browders, who were in the “system” and had no business being in there for as long as he was. There is so much one can do if there is a court ordered, remand custody.  My father had an outrages bail amount when a white man called him a nigger then my father punched him in his mouth.

The New York State Court system keeps blood on its hands.

…Pandora