NYC In Contempt Over Worsening Conditions At Rikers Island, Judge Says

NEW YORK CITY — New York City was found in civil contempt by a judge on Wednesday over the conditions on Rikers Island, setting up a possible federal takeover.

Judge Laura Taylor Swain — in a 65-page ruling — ruled the city in contempt over the rising death of inmates, worsening conditions at the jail complex and for officials failing to correct past court orders, according to multiple media reports.

Swain ordered the city and Department of Corrections to devise an improvement plan and said she's "inclined" to impose receivership, which could allow federal authorities to take over.

“For those reasons, the Court is inclined to impose a receivership: namely, a remedy that will make the management of the use of force and safety aspects of the Rikers Island jails ultimately answerable directly to the Court,” she wrote in her ruling.

Swain also said "those who live and work in the jails on Rikers Island are faced with grave and immediate threats of danger, as well as actual harm, on a daily basis."

The ruling came as of a result of a lawsuit brought upon by the Legal Aid Society.

“The court’s recognition that the current structure has failed, and that receivership free from political and other external influences is the path forward, can ensure that all New Yorkers, regardless of incarceration status, are treated with the respect and dignity guaranteed to them under the law,” the organization said in a statement.

Swain ordered city officials and a federal monitor to come up with a plan for a possible takeover by Jan. 14, according to reports.

This is a developing story. This post may be updated.