KHALIEF BROWDER: HELL ON EARTH (RIKERS ISLAND)

Browder khder khif Browder was arrested at 16 stealing a backpack back solitary solitary confinement tortur T 3 years on Riker's Island trapped there without having been convicted of a crime we turn now to another tragic story about a young man who learned the hard way about the troubles plaguing America's Criminal Justice System Khalif Browner was arrested at 16 never convicted of a crime never had a trial but spent more than 3 years in one of the most violent jails in the country you know I believe this young man his story will save a lot of lives you know what was done to him was a huge Injustice and I think people see his his story and realize like man this is going on this is not like one case that happened this is this is happening a lot for people you know especially places where I come from in the Burrows and Mari projects and Bronx and Brooklyn and all these [Music] places khif Browder was born on May 25th 1993 in the Bronx New York he was the youngest of seven biological children his mother was suffering from drug addiction at the time of his birth and as soon as he was born he was given to Child Protective Services khalif's mother became a part of the crack epidemic of the 80s and early '90s that absolutely destroyed countless black communities throughout America his father was never around and ultimately he would be adopted by a woman named Venita Browder when he was just a baby she was married to a man named Everett Browder but he didn't play much of a father figure role to khif growing up over the years vonita Browder had raised 35 children including Foster adopted and her own biological kids the family lived in a two-story Brick House on Prospect Avenue near the Bronx Zoo it was tight living quarters but khif and his siblings still made the best of it and they had a very close-knit family khif was described as a good kid growing up smart outgoing and never caused any problems for his mom all though in the summer of 2009 khif would be accused by police officers of stealing a bakery truck and crashing it into a stationary car he was charged with third degree Grand larsy and played guilty in court although he would later recan his statements saying that he was just a bystander not the one joy riding he was registered as a youthful offender and sentenced to probation but despite the alleged juvenile delinquency khif continued to do good in school he attended New Day Academy where the staff described him as a very intelligent and thoughtful young man with a very bright future ahead of [Music] him hi my name is Dion Browder and I'm the brother of khif Browder my name is aim Browder khif Browder is my youngest brother I'm Nicole Brer I'm khalif's sister my name is Kamal BR and the relationship to khif BR is he's my younger brother KH means a lot to me he was like an inspiration to me he's he's the reason why I got my G he's the reason why I want to go to school and I want to get into acting and directing and doing my own movies so without him I don't know where I'll be at he's like my inspiration he's the reason why I want to do everything khif meant the world to me he was my younger brother my inspiration but the potential and promise that he possessed would be snatched away from him in a tragic turn of events khif and his friend would be arrested on Arthur Avenue near East 186 Street in the Belmont section of the Bronx it happened on 15th of 2010 911 received a call from a man named Raul stating that his brother Manuel had just been robbed by two black men as he left work the police officers began to fris khif and his friend questioning them about having any stolen property khif told the officers that he had no idea what they were talking about and that him and his friend didn't rob anyone but his accuser Raul was in the backseat of the cop car and he positively identified khif as the one who robbed his brother by this time his story had changed though when he initially called 911 he said that somebody tried to Rob his brother now he was saying khif prowder did Rob his brother of numerous valuable items including a camera $700 a credit card in an iPod touch but khalif's Pockets were empty and didn't have any of the stolen items this is when the man known only as Raul would once again change his story now saying that the robbery happened on May 8th even even though when he called 911 on May 15th of 2010 he made it seem as if the robbery happened just hours prior rul told the police that khif and his friend had probably already gotten rid of the evidence of the stolen property and despite the discrepancies that he had in his story the police still believed him anyways and decided to arrest khif and his friend he protested the entire Drive asking the officers why were they doing this they told him that he would just get processed and then he would get released khif was taken to the 48th precin in the Bronx where he was fingerprinted and placed in a holding cell then processed at Central Booking he still believed that the police would realize that this was all just a big misunderstanding and that he would be released into the care of his mother I I didn't Rob nobody you didn't no now I one operator 1719 where emergency two male black gu Pi up my brother book there was a guy saying that I robbed [Music] him but 17 hours after his arrest khif wasn't back at home he was in an interrogation room talking to a prosecutor and a detective they interrogated him relentlessly but he continued to tell him the same story that he didn't rob anyone that he didn't do anything despite not having any evidence against him the very next day prosecutors would charge khif with grand larsy robbery and assault during this time New York was only one of two states that allowed 16-year-olds to be charged as adults his bill was set at $3,000 but his family didn't have the money although they were able to borrow 900 from a neighbor khalif's family went to a Bell's bondsman for the rest but when they went to post it they were denied being told that his probation officer had placed a violation hold on him meaning that even if he did post Bell he still wouldn't be released this meant that Khalif would now have to wait until his court day to regain his freedom but in the meantime at only 16 years old he was headed to Riker's Island some call it torture island or Gladiator school but most of his former inmates refer to as simply as hell on Earth Riker Island New York's massive jail complex just a few miles from Midtown Manhattan and scene of a humanitarian crisis what are some words you'd use to describe Riker's Island hell plain and simple hell worse the conditions at Riker's Island are now being described as a humanitarian crisis they say it's not safe for Corrections Officers or inmates it wasn't access to showers they were not wearing clean clothes another inmate death on Riker's Island there has been a lot of talk about Criminal Justice Reform in America America and it would be hard to find a place more in need of Reform than Riker's Island the most important jail in New York City located in the middle of the East River Rikers holds about 10,000 inmates it's a volatile mix some have been convicted of minor crimes but as many as 80% are awaiting trial many are there because they can't make bail but it didn't mistakenly end up on an island in the East River and it didn't accidentally be become one of the biggest correctional facilities in the entire world long before the mistreatment of khif Browder the system of Injustice had been in motion for hundreds of years in New York City during the late 1600s a Dutch colonist named Abraham riken took possession of the island their family last name would be changed to rker and the island would become a part of their history for decades to come the origins of what happened to khif can be traced all the way back to the 18th century in New York a man who was the great great grandson of Abraham riken named Richard reker had control of the island in the 1800s he was a very powerful judge and a huge proponent of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 a federal law that made it legal to capture Runway slaves and return them to bondage on plantations in the South but contrary to popular belief there was numerous places in the north that played a huge role in the slave trade the first Commodities ever sold on Wall Street was human beings black people who were taken from Africa against their will and being sold into bondage creating billions of dollars in revenue and setting the foundation of America one man who made a fortune in this market was Richard rker he became known for using his power as a judge to enact the Fugitive Slave Act even if it was illegal he made deals with slave catchers allowing them to capture black people even if they were free sending them to plantations in the South and throughout the north there was a time in the 18 unds were the only state that had more slaves in South Carolina was New York one of the primary reasons for this is the actions of Richard rer towards black people as a judge in the 1860s the Island was used by soldiers during the Civil War especially for black Union soldiers who were being prepared to go fight on the front lines down in Louisiana under the belief that if they fought for the union they would be able to gain their freedom live a better life and abolish slavery once and for all and by 188 before the island was annexed by the city of New York it was purchased from the Rikers family for $180,000 or over $5 million in today's money by 1925 the jails on welfare Island were completely overpopulated by inmates that's when the city decided to build a brand new facility on Riker's Island but the building wouldn't be named just in honor of the rker family it was named after the infamous judge Richard rker who often bragged about having the ability to be able to lock up free black people and send them back antislavery the cruel practice was supposed to come to an end after the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation signed by President Abraham Lincoln but it wasn't done out of sympathy or Mercy for slaves it was done as a military strategy in hopes that the newly free slaves would defect from the rebellious Southern States and join the north increasing their numbers and increasing their chances to defeat the Confederacy this strategy by Abraham Lincoln would pay off and black soldiers would play a pivotal role in the union when in the Civil War as a result slavery was abolished in 1865 but it only gave birth to a much more nefarious law the 13th Amendment which outlawed human Shadow being the property of another individual but didn't outlaw slavery when it came to being a punishment for a crime creating a system that will cause absolute destruction in the black community for generations to come and now over 100 years later that same system is going up against khif Browder when you read the 13th Amendment that basically was the amendment that broke through uh slavery and and free the men and women who were who were enslaved at the time there's a clause in there that allows for the re-enslavement of people in the event that they're convicted of a crime the kinds of kids that are called super Predator millions of dollars will be allocated for prison and jail facilities free strikes and you are out there was an enormous burden in the black community but it also violated a sense of core fairness it doesn't matter whether or not they were deprived as a youth it doesn't matter or not whether or not they had no background that enabled them to have to uh become uh uh social become socialized into the fabric of society it doesn't matter whether or not they're the victims of Society does not mean because we created them that we somehow forgive them or do not take them out of society to protect my family and yours from them they are Beyond The Pale many of those people simple pragmatic reasons if we don't they will or a portion of them will become the Predators 15 years from now [Music] ghet khif really didn't know what to expect upon his arrival at the infamous Rikers Island the only thing he could think about was getting a court day ASAP so they could see a mistake had been made and set him free but he was completely unaware that his nightmare was only beginning as soon as he checked in to the facility he was placed in a holding cell with one of the most infamous gangs at rers Island the ubn the United Bloods Nation surveillance footage will show corrections officer standing by as khif was attacked by dozens of inmates being punched and kicked repeatedly eventually the officers would step in and break it up giving khif enough time to run to the next pod to escape the attack the holding cell door that he was behind could only be opened by a guard that had to push a button but the video showed one of khalif's attackers simply kicking on the door a few times and it suspiciously opening giving the inmates another opportunity to assault khif it seems like this was done on purpose a welcome to Riker's Island orientation khif didn't have any gang ties or Street affiliations so he was extremely vulnerable inside the jail not to mention that he was only 16 years old still a boy amongst men but he learned very fast that he would have to grow up quick and every day he would have to fight for his life fight for survival it didn't take khif long to figure out that his biggest adversary inside of recorders wouldn't be other violent inmates or the gangs it would be those who were hired to protect them the Corrections Officers he stated that they were really the ones who were the most ruthless and Powerful gang inside of the jail and it didn't take much to get on their bad side if you said something wrong or even looked at them wrong you could be getting body slammed and pepper sprayed this wasn't just speculation either on top of the numerous documentaries that have been released showing the brutality of Rikers video footage would show khif being taken out of his cell by a corrections officer everything seems to be fine but in an instance he's being thrown up against the wall dancing slamb to the floor but it wasn't just about what khif was experiencing himself it was about what he seen happening to others in the infamous jail seeing inmates being violated being broken physically and mentally he had to watch his back at all times and rarely ever got any sleep being kept up at Night by the screams of Terror that echoed throughout the building he would be placed in solitary confinement a 7x 12T cell 23 hour a day lockdown according to Riker's Island officials they did that because khif was constantly being attacked by other inmates so they did it for his protection despite the crazy situation that he had been put in khif still held out hope that the justice system would get it right that he would go to court a judge would see the error in his case and set him free but unfortunately this wouldn't be the case and khif would go on to have over 31 court dates all of them being continued by the judge due to different ISS issues even though New York is a speedy trial State and Kif's case should have been resolved within 90 days but this wasn't uncommon 80% of the matat rers was in the same situation unable to make bail and waiting for a trial and when they do finally receive a date a great number of inmates are forced to plead guilty to trumped up charges or run the risk of their time being extended at Riker's Island khif would go on to spend over 1100 days in jail with 800 of those days being in solitary confinement each day he was losing hope more and more coming to the realization that he was Trapped In Hell on Earth being locked away in solitary confinement for over 2 years was absolutely devastating to khif psychologically not to mention that the Corrections Officers was constantly playing mind games with him khif stated that the guards told him they were going to break him down and one way they went about doing that was by not feeding them he said if you made the guards mad in any way they would get payback by ski your breakfast your lunch or all three meals for that day khif said that the longest period that he was starved by guards was for 4 days cos wouldn't allow him to take showers for weeks at a time along with other hygienic needs doing everything that they could to break his spirit and make his life hell in solitary confinement they control your food and how much food you get and when it's time for the feeding they give you food so if you if you if you see say anything that could tick them off in any type of way some of them which is a lot of them what they do is they starve you they they won't feed you and it's already hard in there because if you get the three trades that you get every day you're still hungry cuz I guess that's part of the punishment so if they starve one trade that that that could really make an impact on you and how much were you starved I was starved a lot I can't even I can't even count but the worst the worst the worst time I was star is when they star me four times in a row he began to act out in protest of how he was being treated telling guards that he might do something to himself he would tell them that he needs to talk to a therapist because of all the pain and the anguish that he had to hold in inside but the Corrections Officers would refus and whenever they caught him in the ACT instead of getting him proper mental health care they would rough him up instead khif felt like he was never going to leave rocker's Island and his entire life was passing him by he missed his Junior and his senior year of high school along with his sister's wedding and the birth of his nephew his mom Bonita will come to see him on every visitation day trying to keep his Spirit up telling him everything is going to be okay khif would open up to her about some of the things he was forced to endure and witness during his time at Rikers his mom would tell him to try to stay away from certain people and avoid fighting but he would tell her that he didn't have a choice that he had to fight it was his only way to survive but stated that she could tell the circumstances were breaking khif down and she was afraid for her son but after being locked up for 2 and 1/2 years and having dozens of Dy and court dates with no resolution khif would finally get the opportunity that he had been dreaming about the chance to go home and reunite with his family he had a meeting with the prosecutors who proposed a simple deal plead guilty to all of your charges and you can go home today with a time sered but something in khif Soul was telling him that this wasn't right he knew that he really wasn't guilty and thought about how many people this has probably happened to before and how he couldn't let it continue Khalif believed that if he took the plea deal his story would never be told he would just be another statistic and the corruption in the New York justice system would continue to run rampid but by rejecting the prosecutor's deal his time at the infamous and extremely dangerous Riker's Island would continue extending his time at a place that felt like hell on Earth by this time the man who accused Khalif of Ro had relocated back to his home country of Mexico he did conduct a telephone interview with billboard magazine stating that they decided to move back to Mexico after the incident with khif because they were scared of black people and felt like they were following them the physical as well as mental attacks by guards and other inmates would continue but after spending over 3 years in prison and losing Hope on ever getting his freedom back khif got a surprise at one of his court dates the prosecution stated that they didn't have enough evidence to continue with the case and the judge set him free there was no real explanation given for what had happened no apology he was just set free placed back into society after missing three years of his young life khif struggled with mixed emotions after being released he was happy to be reunited with his family but angry about the time that had been taken away from him he vowed to get his story out to the public in order to raise awareness about the urgent need for prison reform in the New York Justice system especially when it comes to their handling of teenage [Music] offenders I spent three New Years in there three four my birthdays I I spent a lot of holidays in there 20-year-old Khalif Browder may be physically free but mentally he is still trapped behind bars on Rikers where every day was a battle to survive it's very hard when you dealing with this dudes that's that's wild tall and they they're big you and they got weapons and and Shanks and then they're in gangs and you know if you don't give your phone call up or you don't give him what he wants you know they going to jump you cuz he got about other 15 gang other gang members is very scary it was like hell on Earth I must have took about four or five trips to the box to solitary confinement and it wasn't easy I I I practically lost my mind and I and I and I feel like I still lost my mind like sometimes you know I feel like I have screws loose like I'm never going to be the same [Music] got going Bonita Browder spoke about how her son Khalif struggled to readjust to the Free World she said on multiple occasions she looked outside of her home and seen khif walk into each corner of the driveway he was used to walking that same pattern after spending 800 days in solitary confinement it would be a long road before khif was back to his old self but his mom and siblings were there to support him every step of the way his family filed a $20 million lawsuit against the city of New York for his wrongful incarceration initially they were told that they didn't have a case because a civilian was the one who made the claims that resulted in the charges meaning that the city wasn't responsible for what happened and as far as the physical attacks that khif was exposed to during his time at Rikers he allegedly was connected to a blood gang in his neighborhood and when he got to Rikers he told them that he was going to be dropping his flag which made a target for the gang khif and his family would deny these allegations saying that it's just an excuse for the city not to be held liable for what happened to him at Rikers but he had something powerful on his side the public awareness in regards to his case was starting to grow he was making appearances on major news outlets like ABC News The Huffington Post and the view where he made friends with one of the hosts Rosie oono who said that she wanted to keep in contact with khif to make sure that he was okay he would also gain support from one of the most famous people to come out of New York City Shan Carter aka Jay-Z he read an article in the New Yorker magazine about what he went through at Rikers he decided to reach out to khif Jay-Z encouraged him to continue to tell his story as well as offering resources to assist him in his Crusade for justice khif was excited about having the opportunity to make a positive impact on the criminal justice system so nobody would have to go through what he did and with the support of his family he was starting to get his life back on track he got his GED then enrolled in the Bronx Community College the director of the School Kimberly pum took khif under her Wing being fully aware of what he experienced at Rikers she was assisting him in his pursuit of his degree and said that he was a very smart and intelligent young man with a good heart khif was gaining support from all over the more his story spread the more people were outraged they couldn't believe that that a 16-year-old have been exposed to such brutal conditions and sent to such a violent place khif said whenever he would walk through his neighborhood people would say kind things and give him words of encouragement saying that everything was going to be okay because they knew he had a lawsuit against the city and he was probably going to be receiving a substantial payday but for him it wasn't about the money he could care less it was about the psychological toll that spending 3 years in hell did to his mind he said he believed that it changed him forever and no matter what he did the scars he endured would never heal khif stated in an interview that even though he was only 22 years old he felt like an old man who had already lived three lifetimes Khalif was fighting an internal battle a battle for his life and it seemed like the war would never end you know deep down I'm a mess I feel like I'm a grown old man and when he first came home he would just walk the four corners of the driveway you hear animals do that have been confined to a space yes he did it and I had to watch my baby go through all of that judge she was trying to give me time serving I wasn't taking it and she told me if I if I lose trial I could get 15 years just take the time serve you go home today if you say you did it I didn't do it I'm not I'm not saying I did that he went back to jail in June he was suddenly freed with no explanation no apology no nothing they just said oh case dismissed don't worry about nothing like don't what do you mean don't worry about nothing I just took over three years of my life his mom Vita as well as his siblings supported khif through his mental Rehabilitation his mother was there for every therapy session but his mom knew about the internal battles that he was struggling with facing the Demons of Riker's Island Bonita stated that she had to stop Khalif on multiple occasions from putting herself in danger and at times dealing with the situation made her feel helpless he spent time in a psych ward at St Barnabas Hospital not far from his home at the Bronx as well as the Harlem Hospital when khif did his interview for the New Yorker magazine it was with a reporter named Jennifer gonnerman who kept in contact with the family she said that when she went to visit him in late 2014 she could tell that he was in a bad place and struggling mentally not only from the pain that he endured at Rikers but also from the financial struggles of trying to attend college in late 2014 he stopped attending classes because he knew he wasn't going to be able to continue to pay his tuition even though he had a 3.5 GPA he had no choice but to drop out despite having a massive lawsuit looming against the city until it went through his family was still in financial Straits but an anonymous donor stepped in and paid off khalif's tuition this gave him motivation to continue to pursue his degree it seems as if from the moment he came into this world the odds were stacked against him and he experienced things that nobody should have to endure but through it all he was still in a position to succeed and strive in life however the constant night tears of what he experienced at Rikers the place he called hell on Earth would continue to haunt him for the rest of his life his mom told a story about him getting into an argument with one of his brothers about something minor and it turned extremely physical she said that he apologized by saying I'm sorry I had a flashback like I was back at Riker's I had to fight protecting me I'm by myself and there you have to fight for the phone you had to fight to be able to sit at the table you have to fight for people not to take your commentary we have to fight for any little thing the anger isolation and brutality khif endured in jail would stay with him long after he went home this is how he releases his anger weighing heavily on his friends and family and when he thinks about Rikers he gets really upset who was K before he went to Rikers he was a normal kid he was a teenager and when he comes home from Rikers who is he soulless yeah he wasn't the same anymore when he came out he was not the same it was too much baggage he brought from Rikers with him the memory of beatings starvation there was times when he wasn't even allowed to take a shower for two weeks she also spoke about him posting a series of erratic messages on Facebook saying things like he needed to talk to her because he had left outside the gate and now the people after him was saying that he was in trouble because he didn't listen in May of 2015 khif got a disorderly conduct charge after having an altercation with a man in his neighborhood he was scheduled to appear in court the next month but the thought of going back to Riker's Island put him in his a state of inconsolable Despair and on June 6th 2015 while at home with his mom in the Bronx she said that she kept hearing a banging noise coming from the side of the house she had no idea what it could have been after stepping outside to see what could have been making the noise she looked up to the second story of her home and that's when she saw khif police said that there was no signs of Foul Play and that it was done by his own actions he used an air conditioning cord khalif's death was a devastating blow for his Crusade for Change and reform in the criminal justice system something that he was dedicating his life to just prior to him passing away he had to write a paper for college and the subject that he chose was the inhumane practice of solitary confinement and the devastating long-term psychological effects that it can have on inmates put in such extreme isolation for long periods of time khalif's tragic passing put even more Spotlight on his already highly publicized case his mom took his death extremely hard according to his siblings she blamed herself for not having the initial $3,000 to bail him out of jail believing that if she could have just paid all of the heartache and pain khif endure could have been avoided but she vowed to keep his legacy Alive by continuing his mission for change in the criminal justice system vonita never planned on being an activist and she didn't want to be in the spotlight but she knew that she had to do it for her son she worked with Jay-Z on a documentary dedicated to khalif's life and the unimaginable brutality he faced during his time at Riker's Island called time the khif Browder story but before the documentary came out Bonita Brer passed away on October 14th of 2016 just 5 months before its release the official cause of death was a heart attack but if you ask khalif's siblings she died from a broken heart she never got over the grief of losing her son Miss Browder passed away at only 63 years old [Music] and I know you were the one who actually found him yes I was home uh alone with him and he we had a little discussion earlier and I was at a loss as to what to do I didn't know what to do how to really you know help him cuz he he became very paranoid very paranoid I tried talking to him so he went upstairs and I was just laying on my bed and he came in he said ma that was his thing Ma you all right I said yeah I'm okay he went back upstairs and I hear all this moving then all of a sudden I hear this loud noise and I'm like oh my goodness the child and threw his brother's TV out the window but I said he can't because there's bars so I said wait a minute I go upstairs I went in his brother's room nothing then I went in the other room and that loud noise was his body banging up against the house she could never recover from it it sounds like she died of her broken heart yes she did absolutely I tried to get her help as much as possible I did I tried so hard you know even offering to you know be with her during any session I tried really really hard sorry I tried so hard in January of 2017 the city of New York reached a 3 .3 million settlement with the Browder family but they did run into some issues khalif's adopted father Everett Browder who had been kicked out of the family home by Venita years prior but she never divorced him and wasn't much of a father figure to khif lawyered up and got involved with the settlement saying that he was entitled to compensation a legal battle would ensue with the family over the money but ultimately the judge will rule that he is entitled to compensation due to the fact that he was the spouse of Bonita he was next in line but the sacrifice that khif made wouldn't be in vain when he decided to reject the prosecutor's guilty plea and exchange for his freedom extending his time at Riker's Island so his story could be heard and someone else could be saved New York would ban solitary confinement in all jails Citywide they also passed a bill called khalif's law guaranteeing that defendants get a speedy trial and doing away with the cash Bell System one of the main reasons for the extreme overpopulation at Riker's Island khalif's brother hakeim would run for mayor with his key points being Criminal Justice Reform and shutting down Riker's Island resulting in the Mayor Bill delagio announcing plans to have the rackers island facility closed down by 2027 if I would have just been play guilty then my story would have been never been heard nobody would have took the time to listen to me I'd have been just another criminal it's not hard to imagine the life he might have led if he had made it I have the metal hanging on my bed you see it in the remnants of the life and the people he left behind like Elizabeth pums a program director at Bronx Community College who worked closely with khif gr ass degree she says she's working on getting KH his associate degree posum asly thank you much khif moved so many people I just felt compelled to meet with I believe our prophets come in many shapes and forms sometimes our prophets come in the form of young undeveloped energy that will teach all us grown-ups how to love better and have more compassion and khif proud was a prophet most people who learn about khalif's story May view him as a victim but he was actually an inspiration a catalyst for change who sacrificed him himself in order to save others and khif Browder he was only 22 years old when he died rest in peace King