Opinion: A Bad Post-Rikers Jail Plan for New York • The New York Times

To the Editor: Re “How to Close Rikers Island” (editorial, Oct. 14): We are deeply troubled by your endorsement of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to build new jails in four of New York City’s boroughs, excluding Staten Island. Building new jails is not a rational or viable path toward de-incarceration or community health. The research could not be clearer. Incarceration is inherently harmful to human health. There is simply no such thing as a therapeutic jail or a humane cage.