The jail on Rikers Island is both appalling and generously funded

ISAABDUL KARIM, aged 42, was the 11th person to die on Rikers Island, New York’s penal colony, this year. “He shouldn’t have there in the first place,” says Corey Stoughton of the Legal Aid Society, which provides free legal assistance to the poor. Mr Karim was sent to New York City’s biggest jail in August for a minor parole violation, despite his parole ending in June. He was held in the “intake unit” for ten days. He slept in his wheelchair and contracted covid-19 in a crowded space. The city’s department of correction said his death appeared to be natural. Since then, another inmate has died on Rikers.