Category: Staff
The Bronx Defenders releases its report “Voices From the Box: Solitary Confinement at Rikers Island”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 12, 2014 Contact: Skylar Albertson, The Bronx Defenders, (347) 842-1215, SkylarA@bronxdefenders.org Voices From the Box: Solitary Confinement at Rikers Island New York – The Bronx Defenders released a report summarizing the experiences of 59 current and former clients who were subjected to extreme isolation in solitary confinement at Rikers Island. The […]
The Bronx Defenders Written Comments for the New York City Council Committee on Public Safety
The Bronx Defenders’ Written Comments for the New York City Council Committee on Public Safety Oversight: The Police Department’s Plan to Enhance Officer Trainings September 8, 2014 The Bronx Defenders is a holistic public defender located in the South Bronx. Each year we represent over 30,000 people arrested in Bronx County. Nearly all of our […]
Bronx Defenders Social Workers Represent Holistic Defense at This Year’s National Organization of Forensic Social Work Conference
Last month, The National Organization of Forensic Social Work (NOFSW) held its annual conference, which took place this year in New York at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus. Several social workers and one attorney from The Bronx Defenders attended the conference, including four staff members who presented. Participation in the conference not only presented an exciting learning and […]
The Bronx Defenders releases updated Consequences of Criminal Proceedings in New York State
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 11, 2014 Contact: Molly Kovel, The Bronx Defenders, 718-508-3421 or MollyK@bronxdefenders.org THE CONSEQUENCES OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS IN NEW YORK STATE, A Comprehensively Updated Guide for Criminal Defense Attorneys, Civil Legal Services Attorneys, and Other Reentry Advocates New York – Today, The Bronx Defenders released an expansive update to our landmark manual detailing […]
Spotlight on The Bronx Defenders’ new Prostitution Conviction Vacature Project
Every year in New York City, thousands of people who are victims of sex trafficking are arrested, charged, and ultimately convicted of prostitution-related offenses. Due to New York City’s zero-tolerance policing, many of these people are arrested multiple times and face repeated prosecutions. Convictions for prostitution carry an enormous stigma and make it extremely difficult […]
The Bronx Defenders responds to US Attorney report on deplorable conditions facing adolescents at Rikers Island
The Bronx Defenders condemns the conditions adolescents at Rikers Island are being held in and the treatment they are subjected to as outlined in the August 4, 2014 report by United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Barara. For too long, the city of New York has neglected adolescents involved in the […]
HuffPost Live: Kumar Rao interviewed on death of Eric Garner and police brutality
“We need to hold the police department as a whole accountable for the culture that allows for police officers to regularly profile people of color, target them, [and] use physical force against them.” The Bronx Defenders Criminal Defense Attorney and Director of Strategic Initiatives Kumar Rao appeared on HuffPost Live last night, hosted by Ricky […]
The New York Times: Ill and in Solitary at Rikers
Read The Bronx Defenders’ Skylar Albertson’s “Letter to Editor” published in The New York Times in response to their recent article on mental illness among inmates at Rikers Island: To the Editor: “Where Mental Illness Meets Brutality in Jail” (front page, July 14) paints a horrifying but accurate picture of the abuse that mentally ill […]
Watch Robin Steinberg’s Keynote Speech from Yale Law School’s 2014 RebLaw Conference
“We need to intervene more deeply, involve ourselves more broadly, and understand the lives of our clients more fully. We need to fight on behalf of individuals but we need to also mobilize communities to be warriors in the broader struggle of social and racial justice.” Bronx Defenders Executive Director Robin Steinberg gave an inspiring keynote speech […]
The Bronx Defenders’ Skylar Albertson Delivers Testimony at Solitary Confinement Hearing
On Thursday, June 12th, 2014, The Bronx Defenders’ Skylar Albertson delivered testimony at the Joint Meeting of the Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services and the Committee on Mental Health, Development Disability, Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Disability Services Solitary Confinement Hearing. Since January, Albertson and Social Work Intern Leah Baez have conducted 23 interviews with […]