John Poole

John Poole grew up primarily in East Harlem, New York. Incarcerated at Rikers in 1993 before serving time in state prison, he speaks in detail about abuse from corrections officers and how they were the group that would largely "fight back" during conflict. In one instance, an officer planted a razors in a book he picked up at the libary to tease him, and another handed him his gun inside of the jail. One Christmas Eve, a drunk officer snuck into his cell and touched him inappropriately. He received disciplinary action the next day for rejecting her advances. Looking back, "It seems to me that Rikers Island, for the most part, was really just an isolated playground where the guards can do whatever they want," Poole says. "And the law was kept on the other side of the bridge." Poole believes Rikers should close, and considers Rikers "an Eighth Amendment violation of cruel and unusual punishment." (Summary written by: Carson Stachura)