Frank Goldstein

Frank Goldstein grew up in the Bronx. He first arrived at Rikers Island in 1987 as a 16-year-old. The first thing he saw when he arrived in the intake area was an incarcerated person slashing another person's face. Goldstein served serveral terms at Rikers, including one in 2012 when his mother passed away. He was not allowed to go to the funeral, and he never got to say goodbye to her. A typical day at Rikers for Goldstein involved violence or boredom: "we were fighting each other or we was fighting the officers or just sitting around doing nothing." He remembers Rikers smelling like mold and Pine Sol cleaning products. He describes Rikers as "a health hazard" and "hell on earth." Having lost 31 years of his life to the prison system, Goldstein maintains that incarceration doesn't work. (Summary written by: Annie Anderson)