Thursday, March 28, 2024

John Legend Says ‘New York Failed Kalief Browder’

john legend & kalief browder
John Legend & Kalief Browder

*The news of 22-year-old Kalief Browder’s suicide on June 6 forced us to pause and examine New York City’s shady court and prison system. Browder, who was incarcerated at age 16 in 2010 for an alleged robbery, without a trial, was about to return to court to face new charges, but the mental abuse he endured while inside Rikers Island took a toll on the young man, who decided death was a better option than a life of ill-treatment within the prison’s walls.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Browder’s lawyer, Paul Prestia, said the cause for his death was likely due to the harsh and unsanitary conditions of solitary confinement, where Browden was placed for two out of the three years of his sentence. The mental strains he encountered of “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 said.

The news recently sparked a response from musician John Legend, who wrote a moving essay on the occurrence for Vulture:

New York failed Kalief. The list of things that went wrong in his case begins with his first encounter with the NYPD, whose practice of targeting black teens is well documented. The idea that being accused of stealing a backpack would lead to his arrest and detention would be absurd if it weren’t actually tragic. He should not have been tried as an adult, or had prosecutors, defenders, and judges so overwhelmed with cases that he waited three years for trial, violating his constitutional right to swift justice. He should not have been held in an adult jail where he would spend 700 to 800 days of those three years in solitary confinement. He should not have spent one day being abused by guards or the others incarcerated there.

You can read John’s entire piece here.

We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!

YOU MAY LIKE

SEARCH

- Advertisement -

TRENDING