Kalief Browder, a 16 year old boy from the Bronx, became widely known after his insanely unjust stint in New York City’s Rikers Island jail. His story started making headlines in 2014, after his reports of brutality and inefficiency within the jail were finally relayed to the media. Browder was accused of stealing a backpack by a witness who later fled to Mexico, landing him at Rikers Island for three years without trial. Two of these years were spent in solitary confinement, and the ruthless physical and psychological torture he endured during his time there has been decried as a travesty by civil rights activists and members of the public alike.

            In 2010, when he was only 16, Kalief was thrown in jail after a blind accusation. A Mexican immigrant named Roberto Bautista had accused Browder and his friend of the theft of his backpack two weeks earlier, with the mere evidence that two black men had committed the crime. Police took the witnesses’ testimony into account in the arrest, without any evidence to support the claim. Browder found himself at Rikers Island in late May after failing to post a $3,000 bail, and went through hell while awaiting trial there. The Constitution guarantees the right to a speedy trial, but the 6th Amendment that considers it law was blatantly disregarded in favor of New York’s “ready rule,” which states that all felony cases must be addressed within six months. Though the case should be dismissed after this period, the court can be adjourned repeatedly due to trivialities such as the judge or defendant “not being ready,” prolonging the awaiting period for trial. This was the case in Browder’s instance, and a backlogged, broken criminal court system in the Bronx was largely the reason why he was imprisoned for so long.

            During his internment, Kalief was subject to a wildly corrupt, malicious correctional facility, being attacked repeatedly by both inmates and Rikers Correctional Officers. He was jumped by both numerous times for resisting the unfair will of the groups, leading to starvation, injury, and psychological harm. His fellow inmates savagely beat him on a regular basis in general population, typically because of his small stature and his unwillingness to succumb to their rules. While C.O.’s are always required to keep inmates safe from each other, they failed miserably in doing so for Browder. The officers at Rikers often allowed beatings to happen, whether it be from pure negligence to situations that could easily end in violence, or for a sadistic desire to allow the beatings to continue. Though these instances could be written off as short-staffing or accidents by some views, the officers themselves attacked him as well, which can be seen through numerous reports and recordings inside the jail. Along with the physical violence he received, Browder was constantly subject to extreme malnutrition. Officers refused to feed him, even after he begged for the most basic food to survive, keeping him on the perpetual edge of starvation.

            Most of Kalief’s time at Rikers was spent in solitary confinement, which can cause horrible mental problems, especially in the minds of developing teens. The confinement block at Rikers Island is one of the toughest, and cells covered in blood and feces are not uncommon. The “Bing” as it is called, is subject to extremely high temperatures in the hotter months, and cells can reach an upwards of 100 degrees due to poorly maintained or nonexistent cooling systems. Aside from the physical state of the bing, prisoners are kept in their cells for massive amounts of time, deprived from human contact or external stimulation for hours on end, if not days. The isolation can lead to numerous mental problems, including chronic depression, paranoia, anxiety, hallucinations, and suicidal tendencies. In a developing brain, as in Browder’s case, these effects are heavily compounded. Kalief attempted suicide while in the jail several times. He tried to hang himself with a bedsheet before being cut down by two C.O.’s. but was left to strangle for several seconds before they intervened. They proceeded to beat him, citing a resist of their advances. In another case, he tried to cut his wrists with a sharp piece of a bucket in his cell. These mental health problems ultimately carried themselves out off Rikers with Kalief when he was finally released in May of 2013. One of the first journalists to interview Browder, Jennifer Gonnerman, relayed his feelings in a New Yorker article. Kalief said, "Before I went to jail, I didn't know about a lot of stuff, and, now that I'm aware, I'm paranoid. I feel like I was robbed of my happiness.” He committed suicide in June of 2015, hanging himself from the second floor window of his mother’s home. His family suggested that the suicide was a result of his unfair treatment at Rikers Island.

            Kalief Browder’s story is one faced by thousands of Americans daily. Many, if not most of the prison and judiciary systems in the United States are deeply flawed. Backlogging, bureaucracy, underfunding, and poor training have all contributed to a broken system which preys on poor, often African-American, victims. Kalief was subject to poorly handled arrests and trials, and his time spent in Rikers was entirely unethical. His death sparked massive protests across the country, most of which fought for justice and a reevaluation of the current state of prisons and judicial systems. He is among the thousands of other men and women mistreated by a flawed approach to justice, and his image will be continuously used as a beacon for social and political reform.