(NEW YORK, NY) – Mary Lynne Werlwas, Director of the Prisoners’ Rights Project at The Legal Aid Society, and Debra Greenberger, Partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, released the following joint statement as counsel for plaintiffs in Nunez v. City of New York in response to the court ruling to appoint a receivership over the City’s jail system:

“We commend the court’s historic decision to appoint an independent receiver to end the culture of brutality in the City’s jails. For years, the New York City Department of Correction has failed to follow federal court orders to enact meaningful reforms, allowing violence, disorder, and systemic dysfunction to persist in the jails. This appointment marks a critical turning point—an overdue acknowledgment that City leadership has proven unable to protect the safety and constitutional rights of incarcerated individuals.

“This decision confirms what we have long argued: transformative change in the City’s jails can only occur under the leadership of an independent authority, unbound by the bureaucratic and political forces that have stifled progress for decades. The receiver will have the authority to implement long-overdue reforms, cut through the Department of Correction’s entrenched mismanagement, and finally bring relief to those who continue to endure daily, inhumane treatment.

“We commend the court for taking this bold and necessary step. The people we serve deserve real accountability, and today’s decision brings us one step closer to justice.”

Press:
“Outside Official Will Take Over Deadly Rikers Island Jail, Judge Orders,” NYTimes
“Federal judge orders independent official to take control of Rikers Island from NYC,” NY Daily News
“Judge orders city to hand over control of Rikers to outside manager,” NY State of Politics
“Federal Judge Orders Appointment of Rikers Island ‘Remediation Manager’,” The City
“DEVELOPING: Rikers Island goes into federal receivership as judge appoints manager to oversee city jail, end civil rights abuses,” AMNY
“Rikers Island to be taken out of New York City control, federal judge rules,” ABC7
“Judge orders ‘remediation manager’ to oversee Rikers Island jails,” Gothamist
“Judge appoints receiver to take over Rikers Island jail,” Crain’s
“This Notorious NYC Jail Complex To Be Put Under Federal Receivership, Court Rules,” Patch
“Rikers will be taken over by an independent receiver, judge rules,” Queens Daily Eagle