Stephen Risi

[Content warning: Family separation, sexual harassment]

Stephen Risi grew up in Manhattan's Lower East Side and the Bronx. After being told he would be transferred from a psychiatric ward to a state hospital, he was detained on Rikers for a week before realizing he was there. Describing a typical day at Rikers, Risi mentions that he would fight in two ways: "I'll be fighting for our rights, and then I'll be physically fighting other inmates." He emphasizes networking at Rikers while in solitary confinement, sharing resources by "throwing notes to one another with string and with a hook that we would make out of a staple." A veteran himself, Risi draws a parallel to the torture he experienced in Rikers to stories of Guantanamo Bay, and stresses the need for federal intervention. He thinks that Rikers should be turned into a park, a library, or a college campus. (Summary written by: Carson Stachura)