FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 3, 2019
Contact: Melissa Mansfield (mmansfield@skdknick.com) 518.339.7769
New Yorkers United for Justice Statement on Metropolitan Detention Center Incident
Joint Statement from Khalil A. Cumberbatch & Topeka K. Sam – Two Formerly Incarcerated New Yorkers and Nationally Recognized Criminal Justice Reform Advocates
**CUMBERBATCH, SAM AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS TODAY**
New Yorkers United for Justice Chief Strategist Khalil A. Cumberbatch and Senior Advisor Topeka K. Sam released the following statement in response to the disturbing video of incarcerated individuals in freezing conditions in their jail cells at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn – the incarcerated individuals have had limited access to electricity and heat.
“New Yorkers United for Justice is saddened and appalled by the inhumane treatment of our sisters and brothers at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, and we stand with them and their families. This incident is indicative of a severely flawed criminal justice system that perpetuates the dehumanization of people trapped in the system. Now more than ever, we demand that our state officials to do what’s right, and demand justice for the individuals whose lives have been put in danger due to gross negligence.”
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