Amid a spiraling humanitarian catastrophe on Rikers Island, a doctor shares her experience taking care of the sickest and oldest detainees at the city’s largest jail complex. Dr. Rachael Bedard joined Errol Louis to explain why she sees the COVID-19 pandemic as a missed opportunity to reimagine the city’s approach to criminal justice and permanently reduce the inmate population. While her disillusionment ultimately led her to leave her job on Rikers, she’s still fighting to protect the rights of those behind bars as a research fellow at the “Institute to End Mass Incarceration.”

 

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