Edwin Santana

Edwin Santana grew up in Jamaica, Queens. He experienced what he calls his "introduction to the streets" when he was nine or 10 years old, listening to family members, including his brother, discuss their time on Rikers Island and frame it as a rite of passage. Santana first spent time at Rikers when he was 15 years old. He describes how, during his time at Spofford, a Bronx detention facility for young people, the guards intentionally "lost" him after a court date, bringing him to Rikers Island for the weekend. At Rikers, he was punched in the back of the head for attempting to use the phone, and he returned to Spofford with a black eye. After Spofford, he served 15 years in state prison. He had a difficult time reintegrating and adjusting to life after prison, and he found himself back at Rikers when he was 32 years old, this time for six months. At Rikers, he witnessed a man get stabbed multiple times. He saw officers supplying drugs to people at Rikers and betting on fights between incarcerated people. He calls Rikers "an institution of horror." Santana is now an activist with JustLeadershipUSA's Close Rikers campaign. He notes: "Close Rikers is not a statement. It's a conversation, a conversation that needs to be had." (Summary written by: Annie Anderson)