N.Y. Gov. Hochul orders release of 191 Rikers Island inmates amid ‘hell on earth’ conditions at jail

Meantime, living conditions have worsened to the degree that state legislators who toured the jail this week said they witnessed “a humanitarian crisis” in the making, with garbage, fecal matter, rotting food, urine and dead cockroaches lining the hallways of the jail. The lawmakers said some inmates they spoke to had been kept locked up for more than a week with no access to food, bathrooms or medication.