126 SHARES Share Tweet

The family attorney Sanford A. Rubenstein said he is satisfied with the result of the settlement.

“It’s a fair settlement, given the tragedy of what happened here,” Rubenstein said. “While no money can ever bring Kalief Browder back, we hope the settlement of this case and the changes that took place at Rikers will result in this not happening to any other victims.”

Browder, 22, at the time of his death, hung himself in his family’s home in 2015, because of the trauma he experienced during his incarceration. Browder was arrested when he was 16 after being accused of stealing a backpack from another teenager.

Browder’s family could not pay his $3,000 bail, therefore, was detained at Rikers. While incarcerated at the New York State prison he was beaten by guards, attacked by other inmates and spent approximately 400 days in solitary confinement. He was pressured to plead guilty but refused and maintained he did not commit the crime. In 2013 he was released after New York City prosecutors dropped the charges. The tragic story gained national media attention and inspired a six-part documentary produced by rapper Jay-Z.

The New York Times reported Browder’s unfortunate incident led to changes in prison policies. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a policy barring 16- and 17-year-olds from solitary confinement in 2014.

The mayor also spearheaded a plan to transport teens from Rikers to a youth facility in the Bronx. New York’s law department released a statement on the Browder tragedy.

“Kalief Browder’s story helped inspire numerous reforms to the justice system to prevent this tragedy from ever happening again, including an end to punitive segregation for young people on Rikers Island,” the statement read. “We hope that this settlement and our continuing reforms help bring some measure of closure to the Browder family.”

Read more:

Former graduate student accused of stealing his own car reached a $1.25 million settlement

University of Georgia Doctoral Student Faces Backlash

Copyright ©2019 The Black Detour All Rights Reserved.