Rikers 'Needs To Be Permanently Closed'

Neil Barsky, chairman and founder of The Marshall Project, argues that despite recent reforms at Rikers, the only way to fix what he calls "New York's cesspool of a jail complex" is to "destroy" it. He offers an outline for how this could be funded and where the jail's 10,000 inhabitants could go.

Here's @nsbarsky's @nytimes op-ed on why it's time to shutter #RikersIsland: http://t.co/N3cHYyiPhC

— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) July 21, 2015

.@nsbarsky: Rikers has become a mental institution/rehab. "The only real long-term solution is to shut it down." pic.twitter.com/84MJ9wAvVj

— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) July 21, 2015

@BrianLehrer funny how the city will shut down a failing public school or restaurant for failing inspection....what has to happen at a jail?

— Julie Raimondi (@JulieRaimondi) July 21, 2015

Listeners: your thoughts on shutting down #RikersIsland and instead having separate prison facilities in different boroughs? 212-433-9692.

— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) July 21, 2015

The US has 2.25 million ppl in prison. @nsbarsky calls Americans "an unsympathetic population," says fear trumps most other feelings.

— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) July 21, 2015