pain and suffering that Kalief endured in Rikers
For the pain and suffering that Kalief endured in Rikers, I would say that the city of New York is responsible for it. Everyone played a role in Kalief going to Rikers, especially the Bronx criminal court which tried him with no evidence, the New York Police Department who arrested him over a book bag case which had happened weeks before. But for the pain and suffering, Kalief endured in Rikers; the correction officers have to take the blame for it. They are the one who made life there for him difficult by letting him experience the depth of brutality in the jail which sometimes they took part in.
Correction officers are the ones to protect inmates against violence and other harmful events that they experience in jail. Kalief had to encounter and endure brutal fights which were frequently happening in his housing area, and the correction officers could not do anything to stop it. The correction officers allowed all this violence to occur by even taking part in it. They are actively involved in the crimes as they work together openly in Rikers with other inmates to abuse adolescents like Kalief.
The correction officers’ lack of upholding integrity by taking part in challenging inmates in Rikers also is a reason for the cause of Kalief suffering. They would beat him and threaten him that he will be taken to solitary confinement if he reports the cause of injury to the medical department. This physical assaults caused both mental and physical suffering. The failure of the officers to play their role with integrity means that no one can easily survive the depth of brutality in our jail system. It is a systemic problem, and thus it is going to affect any inmate, not just adolescents. Rikers is supposed to be a temporary place. Therefore if the officers played their role in limiting the brutality, Kalief could not have experienced that kind of suffering he had to endure for three years.