Kalief Browder, Jailed at Rikers as a Teen for 3 Years Without Trial, Kills HimselfBy Lily Dane In 2014,Jennifer Gonnerman of The New Yorker brought attention to Browders plight with her poignantarticle titled Before the Law. Browder ended up in one of Americas most corrupt and violent prisons after being accused at age 16 of stealing a backpack on May 15, 2010. Because his family was unable to raise his $10,000 bail and because of repeated court delays and an overwhelmed system, Browder was forced to endure three years of hell including beatings and deprivation of food at Rikers Island waiting for a trial that never happened. He refused to accept several plea deals on principle, maintaining his innocence throughout his entire ordeal. Browderspent more than 1,000 days in prison. Two years of that was spent in solitary confinement. He tried to end it allat least six times while at Rikers. In in February 2012, he made two attempts: he tried to hang himself from the light fixture in his cell using a noose he made with torn bed-sheets, and then tried to slit his wrists with a piece of plastic. New York prosecutors finally dropped the charges against him on May 29, 2013 which was histhirty-first court date. But Browders personal hell didnt end with his release from Rikers. In November of 2013, six months after he left the prison, Browder attempted suicide again. He attempted to slit his wrists, but was halted when a friend stopped by and intervened. When the friend left the house to find Browders mother, he tried to hang himself. Browder was then taken to the psychiatric ward at St. Barnabas Hospital. Paul V. Prestia, Browders attorney, told the Los Angeles Times that every day was a struggle for Browder, who died at his home in the Bronx at age 22. I think what caused the suicide was his incarceration and those hundreds and hundreds of nights in solitary confinement, where there were mice crawling up his sheets in that little cell, Prestia said in a phone interview Sunday evening. Being starved, and not being taken to the shower for two weeks at a time those were direct contributing factors. That was the pain and sadness that he had to deal with every day, and I think it was too much for him. Prestia then became emotional, his voice wavering as he recalled Browder, whom he said hadnt had mental health problems before he was arrested and jailed in 2010. He was a good friend of mine I wasnt just his attorney, you know? Prestia went silent for a few seconds, then continued: He was a really good kid. When Gonnerman interviewed Browder in October 2014, he told her the progress he made since being home didnt feel like much to him: Its been a year now, and I got a part-time job, and I got my G.E.D., he said. But, when you think about it, thats nothing. People tell me because I have this case against the city Im all right. But Im not all right. Im messed up. I know that I might see some money from this case, but thats not going to help me mentally. Im mentally scarred right now. Thats how I feel. Because there are certain things that changed about me and they might not go back. According to Prestia, Browder was attending a community college in the Bronx, and had a 3.5 GPA. When he came out [of jail] and I first met him, he was completely broken I had to show him how to use a computer; he had to get a job. These were issues he was going to have for his whole life. Its not his fault. He didnt deserve that. Browders family wants to ensure that what happened to their loved one doesnt happen to anyone else. In a statement provided to the Los Angeles Times, they said: After fighting so hard to get out of jail and then fighting on the outside to restart his life he ultimately was unable to overcome his own pain and torment, which emanated from his experiences in solitary confinement. We ask the public to respect our privacy during this very difficult time, and we pray that Kaliefs death will not be in vain. We ask that the mayor and every public official in New York City take every action possible to ensure that no other person in New York City will ever again be forced to live through all that Kalief endured. Browder wasnt the first adolescent to suffer abuse and mistreatment at Rikers, but his tragic case helped bring attention to the rampant corruption at the prison. In December 2014,Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that NYC had ended punitive isolation for young inmates following a damning Justice Department report that described a culture of violence at Rikers. When you go over the three years that he spent [in jail] and all the horrific details he endured, its unbelievable that this could happen to a teenager in New York City. He didnt get tortured in some prison camp in another country. It was right here! said Prestia. But sadly, Browders case isnt really that unusual. The US has an ever-growing prison population. In fact, wedont just have the worlds largest prison population per capita, we blow every other country out of the water, asAndrew Pontbriandpointed out in a recent article. And with that growing prison population comes abuse, corruption, mistreatment, and exploitation. Many of the incarcerated are locked up for non-violent, victimless crimes and many of those inmates are mentally illand do not receive proper care, and are more likely to be abused than other prisoners. And lets not forget Chicago polices black site at Homan Square, which operated for who knows how long before its existence was revealed to the publicby The Guardian earlier this year. There, Americans have been disappeared and denied basic Constitutional rights: they are held in secret without being permitted to contact family members or attorneys, left out of official booking databases, beaten, shackled, and allegedlysexually abused. One has to wonder if Homan Square is the only facility of its kind in America. But perhaps the most disturbing fact about the American justice system is this: approximatelytwo million children are arrested every year 95% for non-violent crimes; and the United States incarcerates 5 times more children than anywhere else on earth. In 2010, approximately 70,800 juveniles were incarcerated in youth detention facilities alone.Approximately 500,000 youth are brought to detention centers in a given year.This data does not reflect juveniles tried as adults. Around 40% are incarcerated in privatized, for-profit facilities. This is America. These kinds of things arent supposed to happen here. We deserve better than this, and so do our children. Lily Dane is a staff writer for The Daily Sheeple, where this article first appeared. Her goal is to help people to Wake the Flock Up! Well, this is just sad as shit and my heart goes out to his family and friends. I wasnt aware of this particular case until now, which I cant hardly believe but you cant know em all. Tragic, thats all Ill say. We all know the underlying problems so theres no use rehashing, the article covers it well enough. Blessed are the whistle-blowers for they are the light of justice and blessed are the protectors for they are the shield of wisdom. In my mind I see many a Homan Square; the thought of what goes on in the underground bunkers of our alien/military/industrial/complex, haunts me daily. Tens of thousands of missing in this country each year with true terror lurking in these protected halls of experimentation and there is a reason why the FBI doesnt find them; do you know the reason why? Makes me wonder if Rikers is one of those numerous privately-run prisons that are contracted with by municipalities and are provided a 90% occupation rate. Very sad situation. I want to be on a jury for a non-violent crime soooobad. NO CONVICTION. thats exactly what happens. Ive sat in several court sessions and through my job met many people who relate to exactly to that. The purpose of the Defense attorney to get plea agreements in 90% of cases in order to maintain 200% maximum occupancy in the jails. Its a game of numbers and to them we are just a number. If you dont have $ to hire an attorney who often also pays off the judge, then you dont exist. Unacceptable in a modern world. The system had FAILED ALL OF US. What are we paying them for and why are we allowing this? We WILL live to see the passing of this tyrannical chapter in our history. The young man crossed over to a place of unconditional Love. The basic Constitutional rights being denied to Americans in instances such as the one described above must be understood in the context that, at law, the only right a Constitutor has is the right to freely pay the debts incurred by another; ( please confirm in a reputable law dictionary; ) hardly the basis for a just and equitable system of governance. You will note that the United States itself is a registered entity, and thus, also of the King. 