My coworkers have also been so helpful and supportive—thank you to Jeanne Logan; her father, Jerry Logan; to Robin Rich, Erin Sherwood, Lanethia Spence, and Rich Thomas.
Sister Marion Defeis, Rikers Island chaplain and activist of twenty-three years, has been an indomitable force in seeing this story told. Thank you, Marion!
Finally, a theme of this book is the importance of listening and being heard. I don’t know if I could have written this book were there not someone to listen to me. For believing in my ability to tell this story, even when I couldn’t always see it, I am eternally grateful to Janet Lee Bachant.
About the Author
Credit: Karen Wise
Mary E. Buser worked in the Mental Health Department on Rikers Island from 1995 to 2000. She cofounded the Samaritans of New York suicide prevention hotline and served as its first executive director. She is an outspoken advocate against the inhumane treatment of the incarcerated, especially the mentally ill, and those in solitary confinement. She has been published in The Washington Post and featured in The New York Times and the NY Daily News. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Author’s website
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Disclaimer
Dedication
Preface
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Epilogue
Glossary of Terms
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright Page
This is a work of nonfiction. However, except for public officials and institutions, most of the names of individuals and certain of their identifying characteristics have been changed to protect their privacy. In certain instances composites of inmates have been used. Dialogue has been reconstructed to the best of the author’s recollection.
LOCKDOWN ON RIKERS. Copyright © 2015 by Mary E. Buser. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Jacket design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Jacket photograph © AP Photo/Julie Jacobsen
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Buser, Mary E.
Lockdown on Rikers : shocking stories of abuse and injustice at New York’s notorious jail / Mary E. Buser.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-250-07784-4 (hardcover)—ISBN 978-1-4668-9016-9 (ebook)
1. Buser, Mary E. 2. Jails—New York (State)—Rikers Island. 3. Prisoners—New York (State)—Rikers Island. 4. Prison administration—Moral and ethical aspects—New York (State)—Rikers Island. I. Title.
HV8746.U62N735 2015
365'.9747275—dc23
2015007502
e-ISBN 978-1-4668-9016-9
First Edition: September 2015
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