How Kalief Browder’s Story Impacts Me

Kalief Browder sadly committed suicide after being falsely imprisoned at Rikers Island for three years for allegedly stealing a backpack.

Three years. For a backpack.

That alone is enough to make me sad and angry.

However, he was also beaten by correction officers and subject to solitary confinement throughout those three years without a trial. Despite eventually being released with all charges dropped, the abuse he endured drove him to tragically commit suicide about two years later.

Any system or situation that compels someone to kill themselves is unacceptable and deserves to be earnestly reconsidered and altered. Although Browder committed suicide after being released, he represents many people who commit suicide while imprisoned.

In fact, Suicide is the leading cause of death in jails. The same study found more than 400 inmates take their lives each year. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, more than 1,000 people died in local jails in 2016 and at least half of those deaths were preventable.

Jail can be conducive to suicidal behavior, due to fear of the unknown, isolation from family and significant others, and other dehumanizing aspects of incarceration. People commit suicide early in their imprisonment, with a higher risk for suicide within the first 24-48 hours.

These statistics should not exist. Instead, I believe, the criminal justice system should do everything in its power to preserve human life. Therefore, I work to make sure that the system works for all people, by providing adequate health care, opportunities to speak to family and friends, and basic human rights for all imprisoned individuals.