but if you're too poor to post bail, then you end up at rikers island or a jail like facility like rikersend, let me say this because we're going to run out of time. >> so the rich are free and the poor go to jail. >> let me say this because we're going to run out of time, that is why ministers like you are important because all of that is the drop in the bucket. it is a system-wide nation wide-problem. >> it is a system wide nation wide-problem. and you're really blessed that the kennedys helped them out. we need to set a better example at the federal level because, you know, while we're being rough on teenagers, we're letting people in the white house getting away with bashing people and other stuff that needs to be criticized. >> carrie keep up the good work. reverend nixon as always thank you for being with me. up next my final thoughts on michelle obama opening up about issues she faced. to new heights with safe driver and paperless billing. but the prize at the top is worth every last breath. here we go. [ grunts ] got 'em. ahh. wait a minute. whole wheat waffles? [ crying ] why! yo

assistant mental health chief and charge of a five hundred cells solitary confinement unit on rikers island prison now in your book lockdown on rikers you said you sold words you never imagined can you give us an idea of exactly what you mean. yes certainly thank you for having me on the show . as the head of the mental health department i was called to cell doors regularly to monitor the psychiatric condition of the people who were being held for as you said twenty three hours a day inside these cells and i never expected to see people so broken down so broken down so badly head bash ing arm slashing makeshift nooses anything to try and escape the torment of solitary confinement. when i had first started to work there i was told that solitary was for the worst of the worst the baddest of the bad i was really shocked to discover that four out of five people behind those cells were there for nonviolent infractions such as walking out of a housing unit wearing a hat. the punishment is grueling it drives people to see. aside and virtually everyone in that five hundred cell unit was on psychiat

she's only been to riker's island for a relatively short time. but they've it already she's already accomplished quite preasing things there to improve the quality of care for the -- mentally ill people who are in jail. now book tells the story up to this point in her career about the development of a young psychiatrist working in first in the bellevue hospital emergency room, and then in the psychiatric prison ward on the 19th floor of bellevue. and it takes you through all of the trials and failures and hard won battles of the early stages of her career as a psychiatrist. now i want to go back first -- first time i ever met elizabeth i was at that time as a i am now part of the, part of the faculty of the division of bellevue in nyu. this is the point this is the point in the book -- where she had had finished her specialty training in psychiatry and was starting and was starting her -- treens forensic psychiatry fellowship. the first time i met elizabeth i was impressed. and it wasn't just that she was a very smart and well trained and very en

. >> at age 16 caliph browder was sent to rikers island for allegedly stealing a backpack.uch for his family to pay. >> i didn't rob nobody. >> you didn't? >> no. >> reporter: browder turned down a plea bargain on principle. >> you're not going to make me say i did something just so i could go home. >> reporter: he was an exception. more than 90% of defendants who wait in jail without posting bail will plead guilty, even if they didn't commit the crime. browder was never convicted and eventually he was released. but the brutality of rikers stayed with him. just two years after he got out he hanged himself at his home in the bronx. >> some of the most violent, dangerous institutions in the country are actually jails, like rikers island. people will plead guilty to things they didn't do. >> reporter: because of stories like caliphs flom helped create the bronx freedom fund, the first charitable bail fund for new yorkers charged with low-level offenses. >> 97% of our clients have shown up for every court date. which totally destroys the myth that we need cash bail in order to

that development happened in my time at bellevue, and it's also been fostered at rikers island. almost -- i actually haven't talked to anybody for whom this is not true. officers go into this work because they actually want to help. they want to help people. and there are different ways and approaches to helping people. and some of them feel like they're helping the community at large because they're sort of keeping these dangerous criminals out of the streets. some of them are born-again social workers and want to be, like, they really feel like if somebody's in their custody, they'll be able to have them, provide treatment, you know, someone can't walk away from you when you're in jail. like those kinds of things. and there are some officers for whom this is a, it's a source of great pride, to be part of this, like, paramilitary organization that's the boldest, right in they call themselves new york city's boldest. and i think some of them are very proud of that. what happens, and i'm -- it's or very troubling to me, i feel like this has got to be the next step somewhere. what

. >> this is pedro, he is currently incarcerated at rikers island. in 2016 when he is 60 he was charged with firing a gun into a crowd in a section of the south bronx. the entry it occurred in september of 2015. a teenager was shot in the like. pedro maintained his innocence since the day he was arrested. initially eyewitnesses told investigators that pedro was in fact the shooter, landing him in his cell. fast forward to today, everything is flipped. it's been reported that at least two eyewitnesses have changed their two and say that he was not the shooter. some claim that there are pressured by detectives to figure pedro in the shooting. the shooting victim has come forward to say that pedro is not the person who shot him, even with all of that, pedro remains in custody charge, not convicted of any crime. wednesday he had hearing and they got deal. probation for five years and if no incidents his record would be wiped down. he turned it down. his mother said he would never say he was guilty of something he did not do. pedro graduated high school t

rikers island is the main lockup facility for new york city. we will bring you updates as they are available. jonathan: debbie wasserman schultz her staff after he was arrested at dulles airport. towas apparently trying leave the country on a flight to pakistan when he was arrested on a bank fraud charge. investigators say that the man and his wife tried to defraud a congressional federal credit union. he is due in court in august. alison: 7 on your side with a warning for disabled veterans. a scholarship offer that is raising questions tonight. administration is sending letters to disabled vets offering their children something called the ronald cox scholarship to help with college tuition. problem ist, but the the scholarship does not give students any extra money. instead the v.a.'s using private scholarship money to replace the money they already owe. >> it makes me feel played they would say it's a scholarship when after talking to them it's not. >> as the family of a disabled veteran and a low income family, every little bit helps. alison

the n-y-p-d says the inmate hopped a fence at rikers island prison and is still missing. that prison is now on lockdown as officials search the water nearby. we'll bring you updates as soon as they're available. take a look at this - unbelievable video showing the aftermath of storms in alabama. you can see a car getting swept away by a flooded creek. the driver was able to get out. this is in vestavia hills. a thunderstorm dumped more than three inches of rain on the city in a matte of hours. newly released 911 calls reveal the terrifying moments after a tornado swept through kent island in maryland. monday's twister destroyed 14 homes, knocked over trees, and caused boats to fly into the air. dispatchers were bombarded with calls from frightened residents. people are now the widespread damage. despite the severity of the tornado, there were no fatalities. a beautiful day for a summer swim -- and the ponies on assateague island took full advantage in this year's chincoteague pony swim. about 200 ponies, took to the water yesterday morning for the 92nd year. it's all to g

developing overnight the inmate who escaped from a riker's island jail in new york city has been found and it turns out he didn't go very far. 24-year-old burglary suspect that queen hill was found hiding in a trailer on the island around 3:00 a.m. eastern time. investigators say he jumped a fence and escaped yesterday afternoon. there were reports it happened as two inmates distracted guards who were watching after a small group. the missing inmate wasn't noticed until much later. >>> this morning we are hearing from experts about an alarming new study about the future of the human race. >> you may have seen the headlines at this point online. researchers say that men are significantly less fertile than they were 40 years ago. that study found that sperm count has declined more than 50% in men from north america, europe, and new zealand. they wanted some perspective and investigate and talked with researchers about what might be behind it. >> it can't be ga net tech tick, it's too fast for genetic changes and so it's got to be vierntdal. >> it's not something that is limited only to t

>> six:14 right now on your thursday morning all new this morning the inmate who escaped from riker's island york city has been found. turns out he didn't make it too far. 24-year-old burglary suspect was found hiding out in a trailer on riegers island. it was about 3:00 in the morning eastern time that he was found. investigators say he jumped the fence and escaped the jail yesterday afternoon. there are reports it happened as two inmates were distracting the guards who were watching after a small group. the missing inmate wasn't noticed until much later. >>> well, if you are planning on flying out there's a new security rule you should be ready for. tsa now is starting to screen all devices larger than your cell phone. that includes ereaders and tablets. they have to good through a sprit bin at the x-ray machine. travelers we are spoke with said they were kind of mixed about this added level of screening. >> save the safety's been a big problem especially overseas so i think it's good that, you know, they're just keeping us safe. >> it's a hassle. i would rather put nefrg my check luk lug

since in his comfort to say that he did not in fact shoot but he's still sitting a rikers island withollar bail. he just got his ba is out a awaa trial. were not sure what's gonna happen to the full ride scholarship he is being offered. we will see what happens during the trial. >> crisis in mahwah, somebody is putting up signs on the polls. >> on tuesday i give you the story of a rob. a thin white polo affixed to electricals. they denote an area of the area that is permissible for hasidic jews to enter. i found two at arabs lives there that seem to be dismantled. i do not think anything of it. it turns up those arabs are part of a larger group of arabs that have been dismantled and are part of an ongoing please investigation in the area. they think it has to do with a hate crime. >> we had a report of at least for being damaged. it appeared that whoever did it try to rip them down and take them off the telephone pole. >> there's a petition online demanding the electric company remove all and revoke permission for future installation. some of the comments on the petition speak to the

manhunt continues tonight for the new york inmate who escaped a high security detention center on rikers island. staff noticed the man didn't return from the outdoor rec area this evening. nypd is working with the department of correction to figure out how the inmate escaped. back with more news in a moment. food. water. internet. we need it to live. but what we don't need are surprises, like extra monthly fees. i see you, fee, played by legendary actress anjelica huston. you got me, mark. internet for one everyday simple price and no extra monthly fees. food. water. internet. we need it to live. for all the streaming and the shopping and the newsing, but most of all... for the this. internet for one everyday simple price and no extra monthly fees. >>> amazon is going on a hiring spree. the e-commerce giant wants to fillmore than 50,000 warehouse jobs across the u.s. starting next week, the amazon will be looking for people to sort and pack orders in specific states including tennessee, ohio and wisconsin. they say some people will be hired on the spot and some managerial positions will be avai

prison an independent commission has released a plan to close rikers island prison within the decade as we've covered on this show before rikers has been home to carolus cases of abuse ranging from routine beatings of inmates to prisoner actually dying from overheating in their cell the commission suggested that rioters be shuttered in favor of five smaller prisons one for each of the city's boroughs the cost of this moves expected to be almost fourteen billion dollars but it's estimated the changes are going to save the city about one point four billion dollars every year meaning the project will eventually pay for itself while it remains to be seen whether or not the city will fulfill its promise to shut down this nightmare prison the fact that a specific plan is now on the table is a major victory for justice and human rights that's all for tonight i might have been tony on this is america's lawyer where every week we tell you stories that corporate media is ordered not to tell because their advertisers just won't let the great know. what you have for breakfast yesterday why would

there's been a lot more news about rikers island finally being closed and most people think that that's a pretty great thing pretty infamous prison but you thought there might be some blowback in store if the prison closes. that's not exactly what i covered actually the plan to close it is mayor de blasio recently announced that it's going to take ten years to close and it seems less like plan to close it more like we just hope. problems will resolve themselves and rancorous will just mature on its own you know what i think it's big brother roosevelt island you know i'm just following his footsteps so yes the abuse of riker's is very well known guards have been convicted by the d.o.j. for beating inmates with excessive force there's been you know even kind of force there i mean the supporting players yeah. i don't know really some end up doing a little bit of really really and truly. i think. so. so activists are really angry at the blahs here who's been kind of the champion know a lot of progressive reforms in new york but this one. he seems to be tiptoeing back on and the plan is just

focused on a new york teenager, recognized as an honor student, his cry of innocence from infamous rikers islandas inspired the kennedy family to help. that's later in the show. >> in other news, outrage, real outrage this morning over the president's comments to the

people to heal in seek genuine rehabilitation this individual any vidual individual who goes to rikers island or any prison in this country often comes out more criminal more battered more beaten down themselves so we seek genuine solutions of healing and rehabilitation. and what do you think that i might do you think it's on the individual and you think it's on society. well it's on board for culture house too and again this is where that xenophobia kind of comes in as we know a lot of people in america like to talk about how apparently america's a terrible place for women and for the rest of the world even really wants to come here but the truth is that the western world treats women far better than any of these other countries and when you allow people into your country who don't share your values we as a culture and civilization have to enforce those values and that isn't being done because people are being afraid of well maybe they'll call me a racist or xenophobe eric or some other is and attack me unfairly and destroy my life through my career which is what a lot of people are trying t

the inmates who escaped from riker's island in new york city has been found. that escapee was located by two department much corrections staff members on the island before 3:00 a.m. there was concern that 24-year-old hill may have tried to get to laguardia airport across the river from the prison. you can see on the map here that jail is in the middle of several boroughs. the department of corrections says he jumped a fence. he was missing around 7:30 p.m. when the head count was off by one. >>> we're also staying on top of a developing story out of ohio. one man is dead and seven others hurt after a ride malfunctioned on the opening day of the state fair. people were thrown from the fireball spinning ride. officials say that ride was inspected thoroughly before the fair started. now the governor has ordered all rides to be safety inspections are done. witnesses describing the scene seem to be in shock. >> i saw somebody fall and a minute later the whole row the seats fell to the ground. >> three of the injured are in critical condition this morning. >>> now t

and in new york city, pedro hernanandez, a bronxnx teen wh's been held at the notorious rikers island jail while awaiting trial for a 2015 crime he says he did notot commit, wil be released on bail.l. the robert f. kennedy human rights group agreed to post $100,000. hernandez is fighting charges that he fired a shot that injured another teen in 2015, even though the victim and eight other teens who witnessed the shooting say hernandez is innocent. hernandez has been in jail since july of 2016. his plight has drawn comparisons to the case of kalief browder, another bronx teen, who committed suicide in 2015 at the age of 22 after being held at rikers for nearly three years without trial for a crime he did nonot commit. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. on wednesday evening, protesters gathered in front of the white house and u.s. armed forces are crewmen station in times square in new york to denounce president donald trump's surprise announcement banning transgender people from serving in the militar

civil rights activists are demanding justice for a bronx teenager who's been held at the notorious rikers island jail while awaiting trial for a 2015 crime he says he did not commit. prosecutorors say 18-yeaear-old pedro hernandez fired a shot that struck another teen in the leg, even though the victim and eight other teenens who witnessd the shooting say hernandez i is innocent. hernandez has turned down a plea deal that would see him released on five years' probation. he's insisting on a trial by jury, but scheduling conflicts have pushed a trial date past labor day. hernandez hopes to be released by in order to accept a full september 1 college scholarship. his family has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise the $250,000 needed to bail him out. hernandez's plight has drawn comparisons to the case of kalief browder, another bronx teen who committed suicide in 2015 at the age of 22 after being held at rikers for nearly three years without trial for a crime he did not commit. the e senate on thurursday voted 51-47 along party lines thursday to confirm judge john k. bush for a lifetime appoi

same page here, but again, you know, new york city, one of those places where we can't get into rikers island and put our hands on people. when it comes to gang members, gang members walk out of county jails of sanctuary cities every day across this country. that's what we need to change. >> how are things -- how are suspected gang members being identified for i.c.e. enforcement? is it just through local law enforcement? are there databases that you're using? like how do you know how to find these gang members? >> local law enforcement, they're usually the ones that, you know, they have the most intelligence on gang members. as far as what we look for to find gang members, i would rather not discuss that because i certainly don't want to share that information with the gang members who may be watching and say, we'll just do this a little bit different. there's a myriad of factors. we don't arrest people for the way they look. i've seen media accounts about people with tattoos and clothing. that is one of many, many factors relo factors we look at. so it's are really quite law enforcement sens

again, new york city, one of those places where, you know, where you can't get rikers island.members walk out of county jails and sanctuary cities every day in this country. that's what we need changed. >> ma'am? >> how are things -- how are suspected gang members being identified for ice enforcement? is it just through local law enforcement? are the data bases that you are using? how do you know how to find these gang members? >> local law enforcement, they are usually the ones that -- they have the most intelligence on gang members. as far as what we look for to find gang members, i would rather not discuss that because i certainly don't want to share that information with a gang member who may be watching. okay. we will just do this a little bit different. there is a myriad of factors. we don't arrest people for the way they look. i want to make that clear. i have seen media accounts with people can w. tattoos and clothing. that is one of many, many factors we look at. it's law enforcement intensive how we target gang members. i can tell you the men and women of ice are wel

i literally interviewed tupac at rikers island in january of 1995 and this letter is dated january 1995t were supportive of him and it's been kind of a qui quiet secret that's a-- he and madonna had a relationship and he was grabbing with it and was considered a spokesperson but dating a white sister who he had a great affinity for and talked about do i publicly acknowledge these relationships or not. he didn't talk about the romance part of it. >> did he discuss just the problems he was having with race and relationships. >> absolutely. here is someone who was in high cool in baltimore in the performing arts high school met jada pinkett smith and some of his biggest mentors were white brothers and sisters but felt this responsibility to be a spokesperson for his race. that's where the conflict came as you see in this letter. >> just 25 when he died. what do you think his stance would be today? would he still have concerns. >> i think he would be talking about race across the board. i mean there's video interviews trump in 1992, talking about, you know, his version of black lives matter

island why can't you be more like roosevelt good spread. makes that. struck central that you. could see your brother. always with the abuse that ten thousand new yorkers jailed at rikers eighty nine percent of which are black or latino suffer a deep seated culture of violence assaults from inmates and guards who have been found to use excessive force and countless department of justice and news investigation like this year the d.o.j. charged a writer's island guard with beating and kept in maine and stabbings and slashings are still on the rise despite millions of dollars spent these conditions are so brutal that after is eight months stay at rikers lil wayne. wrote a book in gone so much better he said even considered converting to christianity while in rikers and started to think maybe i don't need some big booty to be creative writing the strokes the very world will wane spirit you speak in. this that's terrifying we need to shut this place down immediately another famous inmate though for different reasons police browder was arrested for allegedly stealing a backpack at the age of sixteen and spent three years at rikers the majority in solitary confinement with no