BRUTAL BRAWLS

Videos Reveal Merciless Rikers Island ‘Fight Nights’

One melee and its repercussions led a judge to order the release of an inmate who was involved.

Video footage from Rikers Island published by The New York Times on Wednesday shines a harsh light on the brutality of the notorious jail’s “fight nights,” in which inmates engage in punishing brawls for rewards as paltry as a cigarette. One video shows a gang leader in control of a cell block forcing two men to fight each other as Correction Department guards look on. The fight and its repercussions—one man was later attacked by gang members for his refusal to continue—led a Manhattan Supreme Court judge to order the release of an inmate involved last month. A Department of Correction spokesperson told The New York Times, “We remain fully committed to creating a safer and more humane environment in our jails.” Violence has soared in Rikers over the past year despite renewed Correction Department efforts to clamp down. Some inmates have initiated a hunger strike over squalid and dangerous conditions in the penitentiary.