TESTIMONY
Member of the Public on the Medical Neglect and Systemic Abuses Faced by Incarcerated Individuals
5:02:23
·
3 min
A testimonial outlines the detrimental effects of the Department of Corrections' practices, including a case of fatal medical neglect and broader systemic abuses.
- Provides an account of Mariahuda, whose death was attributed to a fentanyl overdose by the Department of Corrections, despite reports of medical neglect around her diabetes.
- Depicts the speaker's harsh experiences in the New York State prison system, highlighting sexual abuse and lack of mental health care.
- Criticizes the allocation of funds to the Department of Corrections instead of investing in mental health, education, and housing to support healing and community needs.
- Calls for a reallocation of the city's budget from the Department of Corrections to services proven to work, underscoring the importance of addressing root causes of incarceration.
- Advocates for closing Rikers Island and diverting resources to the poorest communities to counteract mass incarceration and broken windows policing.
UNKNOWN
5:02:23
Madam Cher, do you mind if I just preface with something that I wanted to reiterate throughout the hearing today, and thank you for the committee members for allowing me to testify.
5:02:33
I have the honor of representing a directly impacted woman who's a member of Freedom Agenda today, and I'm honored to read her testimony.
5:02:39
But It would be remiss of me to now bring up Mariahuda today who lost her life on DOC.
5:02:46
A lot that came up today was how closely DOC And Correctional Health Services work when we saw that Mariahuda upon intake was never checked for diabetes.
5:02:58
Complained from February 2nd until her loss of her life in May about shortness of breath.
5:03:06
Pain in her arms.
5:03:07
And then DOC slammed at her name and said her death was because of fentanyl overdose.
5:03:12
So I just wanted to uplift her name today.
5:03:17
Today, I'm representing a she's chosen to omit her name because of her experiences.
5:03:26
They continue to make her fearful that long will retaliate against her even though she has finished servicing
Molly Bibby
5:03:33
her time.
UNKNOWN
5:03:39
Aditi, Ms.
5:03:40
B is a survivor of Rikers Island in the New York City State Prison System.
5:03:46
The New York State prison system, a deeply dramatic time in her life that she'll be forever recovering from.
5:03:54
In her words.
5:03:54
When I think about the time I spent in jail in prison, my mind never goes to anything, my mom and dad who I lost was My mind never goes to anything positive that was done for me.
5:04:05
On the contrary, I think of being away from my newborn son and my mom and dad who I lost while serving time in jail in prison.
5:04:12
I think of the corrections officers accumulating vacation time and getting new cars and homes while I was getting sexually abused by the people and trusted to be professional and provide care.
5:04:22
I was punished for that addiction so much more than the big players who run the drug game and kept substance use going on.
5:04:29
Behind the walls at Rykers.
5:04:31
Me and my people who come from severely underfunded communities remain easy targets for broken windows policing and fueling mass incarceration when for decades our needs have yet to be met.
5:04:43
Instead of the ridiculous amount that the city has been to keep me locked up in traumatic conditions away from my son, my family, my community, that money could have been better funded to my healing and to address the root causes of difficulties I was experiencing.
5:04:59
That money should have been used to invest in quality mental health care, crisis, risk centers, education, and transitional and long term housing.
5:05:08
Except this city year after year continues to write blank checks for the Department of Corrections instead of the services that have been proven to work.
5:05:17
The mayor's budget shows to me that several New York City agencies are going to suffer with less funding or cuts such as the education system, the health department, and new services.
5:05:27
Even the parts and recessions, apartment, and sanitation.
5:05:33
The mayor's budget promises to punish more poor people who have no access to resources to get arrested and sent to jail.
5:05:40
The figures in this budget are also punishment to taxpayers and an unmerited reward to a grossly mismanaged department.
5:05:48
New Yorkers are counting on our allies and city council to divest from the Department of Corrections and invest in local communities, especially the ones in the poorest parts of our city.
5:05:57
That is the pan to close rikers that I fought for, and we know we can work with this council to make a reality.
5:06:02
You so much.