The Justice Department has launched an investigation into a federal prison in Brooklyn, NY after inmates went a whole week without heat or electricity during the freezing polar vortex.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo made the announcement on Monday that the Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the federally operated Metropolitan Detention Center. The investigation comes less than a day after protestors stood outside the prison and demanded justice for the nearly 1,000 inmates who spent a week without electricity in subzero temperatures. Power was finally restored to the facility at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
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The outage reportedly stemmed from a Jan. 27 fire at the detention center.
“In the coming days, the Department will work with the Bureau of Prisons to examine what happened and ensure the facility has the power, heat and backup systems in place to prevent the problem from re-occurring,” said Wyn Hornbuckle, deputy director of public affairs for the Justice Department.
Cuomo called for an investigation over the weekend after the incident went viral across social media
“Just because you’re incarcerated doesn’t mean you give up your civil rights and civil liberties,” Cuomo said Monday.
A group of state lawmakers examined the facility over the weekend, including Sen. Luis Sepulveda, D-Bronx, who chairs the state Senate’s Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee. Sepulveda said he was “shocked” at the conditions of the prison, but acknowledged that the state could only do but so much since the prison is federally operated. However, Sepulveda said a lawsuit is still an option and he planned to discuss it further with the state’s attorney general on Monday.
“We’re scratching the surface as to what we’re going to do,” Sepulveda said. “I’ll tell you this, that whatever we can do, we will do,” he added.
Most of the prisoners impacted by the power outage at MDC were pretrial inmates who haven’t been convicted yet to be convicted, said Sen. Jamaal Bailey, D-Bronx. Bailey added how the incident highlights the need for prison reform in the state.
“We don’t know why they were there,” said Bailey, referring to those impacted by the outage. “Maybe it was because they didn’t have evidence, which is why we need discovery reform. Maybe it was because they couldn’t afford bail, which is why we need bail reform. Maybe because we need speedy trial reform. “Those situations should be remedied here,” he said.
Cuomo continues to keep prison reform at the forefront of key issues in his 2019 agenda. His executive budget includes proposals to end cash bail, reform the discovery process and ensure a speedy trial.
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