AOC believes the best solution to deal with Rikers is to release all of the prisoners
If theres one thing you have to give Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez credit for, it is that she is consistent and stubborn.
If would be difficult for most people to not have learned the lessons from a failed bail reform in New York that put criminals back on the street after being arrested, but not for AOC.
She wants to take it even further by demanding the governor and mayor release all of the prisoners from Rikers Island.
There is a problem at Rikers. Everyone would agree.
The prison guards are overworked and the prison is understaffed.
Rather than work to fix the problem, AOC sees this as an opportunity to push her left agenda.
It’s not the democrats fault for dropping the ball with keeping the prison running smoothly, just like it apparently isn’t the criminals fault for commiting crimes against innocent victims.
The conditions at Rikers Island are a humanitarian crisis.
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) September 21, 2021
We, along with @RepJerryNadler, @RepBowman and @NydiaVelazquez, strongly believe that Rikers should be immediately decarcerated and shut down.
Read our letter to @GovKathyHochul and @NYCMayor ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/y164BM9GPq
Bad Managment? Shut the Whole Prison Down According to AOC
AOC believes there is a management problem at Rikers. This excerpt is from the letter she and three other congressmen sent to the governor and mayor:
“Furthermore, we believe that the hiring of more corrections officers to address the ongoing situation represents a mismanagement of federal funds. This is not a staffing shortage; this is a management issue that cannot be resolved with an increased headcount. As many as one-third of corrections officers are failing to show up for their shifts on a daily basis, leaving their colleagues to pull double or triple shifts, exhausted and unable to do their job.”
Maybe she is right. That seems like it could be a management issue. In the real world, when there is a management issue, management is replaced or dealt with.
If the manager at your office wasn’t doing a good job, you wouldn’t expect the office to be closed. You’d expect the manager to be replaced or to be reprimanded by a higher manager.
The problem is that these people writing policies have not had to answer for their poor choices. Until they do, they will start, stop, pause and redirect programs at their whim.
Reactions to AOC's call to close Rikers
You know a plan is crazy when die-hard democrats don’t agree with it.
AOC wants every rapist, murderer, burglar, drug kingpin, child molester, extortionist, arsonist... held at Riker's Island released, b/c conditions are unsatisfactory. Makes us sometimes wish for a little more grown-up and real world Democratic leadership
AOC wants every rapist, murderer, burglar, drug kingpin, child molester, extortionist, arsonist… held at Riker's Island released, b/c conditions are unsatisfactory.
— VoteBlue in 2020 (@VoteBlueIn2020) September 23, 2021
Makes us sometimes wish for a little more grown-up and real world Democratic leadershiphttps://t.co/PaOH5cS4fU
Let’s hope AOC keeps proposing craziness and God-willing brings herself to get voted out.