Bill Moyers warns, "Some of the scenes are shocking. Some of the language is raw. But this is Rikers."
The United States is facing a crisis of mass incarceration with over 2.2 million people packed into its jails and prisons. To understand the human toll of this crisis, Rikers Island is a good place to start.
Of the more than 7,500 people detained at Rikers Island on any given day, almost 80 percent have not yet been found guilty or innocent of the charges they face. All are at risk in the pervasive culture of violence that forces people to come to terms with what they must do for their own survival.
"Rikers: An American Jail," a documentary from Bill Moyers, brings you face to face with men and women who have endured incarceration at Rikers Island.
Their stories, told direct to camera, vividly describe the cruel arc of the Rikers experience — from the shock of entry, to the extortion and control exercised by other inmates, the oppressive interaction with corrections officers, the beatings and stabbings, the torture of solitary confinement and the many challenges of returning to the outside world.
REACTIONS TO THE FILM
"A beautiful, yet deeply disturbing, film. Very powerful. 'Rikers: An American Jail' shows a highly organized system of violence, where people are treated like they are less than human and leave detention more badly damaged than when they entered. How does this make us more safe?"—Michelle Alexander, professor and author of "The New Jim Crow"
"I've visited two hundred correction facilities around the country and I can tell you, Rikers is every jail; and every jail is Rikers. I've never seen a film like this before—it is the raw truth of what it is like to be on Rikers Island. As someone who spent time on Rikers as a young person, I found that every single story rang true to me."—Glenn E. Martin, founder and president, JustLeadershipUSA
"There is nothing quite as powerful as seeing and hearing the firsthand accounts of people who have spent time at Rikers. 'Rikers' captures the tragic, unjust human experience of individuals held at our City’s largest jail facility and fuels the need for a new blueprint for the future of criminal justice in New York City.—Jonathan Lippman, judge and chairman of the Independent Commission On New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform
Rikers: A Conversation
"Host Alison Stewart discusses issues raised in the documentary RIKERS
JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
"Rikers: An American Jail" is on Facebook, and you can follow @RIKERSfilm on Twitter. Bill Moyers is on Facebook, and you can follow @BillMoyersHQ on Twitter. #RikersPBS
CREDITS:
A Production of Schumann Media Center, Inc. and Brick City TV LLC in association with Public Square Media, Inc. Executive Editor: Bill Moyers. Executive Producer: Judy Doctoroff. Produced by Marc Levin and Mark Benjamin. Producer: Rolake Bamgbose. Editor is Jason Pollard. Director of Photography: Mark Benjamin.
