December 20, 2023 • 46 mins
Every year, the anniversary of Layleen’s death is a reminder to ask: has anything really changed? Many organizers have been personally touched by Layleen’s story and have spent years advocating for policy changes that would prevent a tragedy like hers from happening again. Major headlines have surrounded Layleen’s death: from steps taken towards decriminalizing consensual sex work, to the claim that New York City ended solitary confinement, to the creation of an unit at Rikers dedicated to LGBTQ+ advocacy. But these initiatives have had mixed results in practice. We’ll look at the strides that have been made in Layleen’s name as well as the effects of compromises, rollbacks, and resistance.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Afterlives is a production of iHeart Podcasts and The Outspoken
podcast Network in partnership with School of Humans. Just the
Heads Up, the following episode discusses transphobia, sexism, racism, physical violence,
(00:22):
police violence, sexual assault, and suicide. Take care while listening
when trans folks die, the news cycle doesn't usually last long.
More often than not, it's nonexistent. There might be outrage
on social media, but then a lot of people move
(00:47):
on until it happens again. But Leileen's life and her
tragic death were different. Something shifted with her story.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Story change me in so many different ways.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Eliel Cruz is an organizer who we spoke to in
our last episode. He was behind several rallies on Leyleen's behalf.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Seeing the ways that Leileen was entrapped to the criminal
legal system, everything from the employment discrimination that she faced,
to her entering sex work as I mean a survival
to them being arrested for it, to being thrown to
solitary environment really helped clarify what I thought the criminal
legal system was doing.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Every part of the system failed Leyleen, which wasn't surprising
in the least, especially in our community. Her death sparked
an intense desire within LIOL to demand change, and l'ileen's
story led a lot of people to see the need
for that change.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
On a political level. Her experience within the criminal legal
system pushed me to understand abolition in a way that
I hadn't before. There's no way to actually avoid or
prevent violence within the system, because this is what it
structured and set up to be. It's a system of
punishment and often is used to throw away queer transit.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Ble of color.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
I'm Raquel Willis and this is Afterlives, episode six of
(02:38):
Rallying Crime. To prevent another death like Layleen's from happening,
Eliel joined a group of fellow activists and got to work.
There was that initial rally at Foley Square in her name,
(02:58):
but that was just the start.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
The very beginning.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
My colleague and I sat down and began to formulate
what would be the demands in terms of both power
ways that we could prevent violence to happen like it
happened to Dailan within Rikers and outside of Rikers. That
led her to get into records in the first place.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Layleen's community decided that her story would not end in tragedy.
In fact, it began a fierce march toward justice. Organizers
weren't planning to just make cut and dry policy suggestions. Now,
they wanted to show how legislation can impact the life.
(03:39):
The most essential part of changing the system would be
showing the world what Rikers refused to recognize that Leyleen
was a human being.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Trying to find ways to humanize and tell the story
of Leileen for her twenty seven years of life previous
to being rested and thrown into Rikers and then thrown
into solitary confinement.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Alone where she ended up dying.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Leileen could have and she was in some ways you
demonized around her sex work as a means of survival.
She was someone who was also mentally ill and allegedly
a taxi cab in the middle of the mental health
crisis which sent her to Rikers.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
It's a tricky thing to maneuver.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Elliel, along with Leileen's origin and Chilsen families, friends and
fellow activists, repeated her story again and again at rallies
and in interviews with the press. Momentum grew, and on
June twenty sixth, twenty nineteen, two and a half weeks
after Layleen's death, this coalition gathered and publicly read policy
(04:54):
demands in front of City Hall in Manhattan. Layleen's name
was invoked to shift the laws around things that impacted
her life, like sex work and solitary confinement. Activists demanded
that the city improved treatment of incarcerated trans people and
(05:14):
other gender non conforming folks. Every year, the anniversary of
Layleen's death is a reminder to ask has anything really changed?
Could this still happen one or two, or even now
four years later? After all, we've seen some major wins
(05:35):
in the wake of Layalen's death. A few happened pretty quickly.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
The only reason that Layleen's story ended up getting so
many results in the ways that it did was because
of this sustained public outcrying media attention that we were
able to get.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Without it, all these things would have happened in a year.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Since that early burst of attention, Ellie has seen several
policies fall short of what organizers hope for. There have
been compromises, rollbacks, and a lot of resistance.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
A lot of the big, splashy headlines, unfortunately haven't fully
come to fruition or policy wins, haven't actually come through
or have been walked back. How do we continue both
as a public to tell those stories no matter how
long it takes or how many years down the road,
that we continue to have the same energy or care
about the stories because the families are definitely still out there.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
In this episode, we're talking about three major policies that
are now a part of Leileen's legacy. We want to
understand could her death still happen today?
Speaker 5 (06:53):
Six?
Speaker 6 (06:58):
It is really sad times we have to find these
terrible situations in order to create momentum. But in my sadness,
I thought this is the moment to act.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
That's Sicilia Genteeley from previous episodes. She's a formally incarcerated
sex worker and founder of d Crime New York, an
advocacy group dedicated to decriminalizing sex work in New York State.
She brought together a diverse coalition to draft legislation.
Speaker 6 (07:32):
I am a huge defender of people who engage in
the sex trade or use drugs right because these two
things that are highly criminalized are not most of the
times the result of choice.
Speaker 4 (07:48):
And how much is the choice if it's the only choice.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
A key demand from supporters after Lalen's death was to
repeat the so called walking while trans law. The policy
criminalized loitering for the purpose of sex work. It was
weaponized against trans women from all walks of life. These
struggles and experiences are connected, and Layleen's death illuminated those
(08:19):
connections for so many people.
Speaker 6 (08:21):
We understand who we go through in life because we
belong to the same community that brings you to another
level of community.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
In the months following Leileen's death, the Queen's District Attorney
Race elevated sex work criminalization as a critical issue for
the city. The following year, then Mayor Bill de Blasio
was asked whether he thought sex workers should be arrested.
He said no, referencing l'ileen's story. By twenty twenty one,
(08:56):
New York States loitering for the purpose of prostitution law
was repealed.
Speaker 7 (09:01):
I'm thinking today about that extraordinarily powerful moment from this
past summer's Black Lives Matter protests.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Here's New York State Senator Brad Hoyleman, single, who sponsored
its repeal on the Assembly floor. The day of the vote, more.
Speaker 7 (09:18):
Than fifteen thousand New Yorkers he gathered outside of the
Brooklyn Museum to March for Justice in This march was
led by transgender women of color, and we're on the
Senate floor today to reaffirm that message we heard at
the Brooklyn Museum Black trans Lives Matter. The bill we're
(09:39):
passing today repeals an outdated and infamous part of our
penal Code, Section two four zero point three to seven.
Just a series of numbers, but it gives police the
power to stop or detain transgender women for simply walking
down the street.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
I proudly vote on mister President announced the results.
Speaker 8 (10:04):
I was forty five May sixteen.
Speaker 7 (10:06):
The bill is passed.
Speaker 9 (10:09):
What happened with the walking Mall trans bill, I would
have to say, was absolutely phenomenal. That was phenomenal work.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
That's Kristin Leavelle, a formally incarcerated sex worker turned film director.
Her documentary The Stroll centers the decades long story of
trans sex workers of color in New York's meat packing district.
This repeal was a huge win for people like Kristin
and Cecilia, who became accustomed to excessive harassment and arrests
(10:40):
from police every time they went outside. It also sealed
thousands of convictions, meaning people once convicted of loitering would
no longer have to deal with many of the consequences
of a criminal record. I was like, Oh my god,
are you kidding me?
Speaker 9 (10:57):
As flow as New York City a they are trying
to change and make the difference.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
In twenty twenty two, there were just over one hundred
arrests for sex work related crimes in New York City.
That's compared to almost twenty thousand in nineteen eighty five.
Repealing the walking while translaw was an important part of
this downward trend, but for activists, decreasing arrest numbers isn't enough.
(11:30):
If there's anything I've learned from Layleen's story, it's that
as nice as it sounds for das or police officers
to say they're going to change policy, it's far too
easy for people to slip through the cracks. The NYPD
said they would stop arresting sex workers in twenty seventeen,
(11:53):
but months later Leyleen was arrested in a sex work sting.
The DA said it would stop seeking bell for misdemeanors,
and yet over a year later, Leyleen's bell was set,
a burden that triggered the cascade of events that led
to her death. Every sex work arrest that still happens
(12:17):
is a chance for somebody to succumb to the same
faith as Leileen, which makes higher level policy change and
adherence to that policy so important. Fully decriminalizing sex work
(12:39):
may sound ambitious, but people like Cecilia believe it's necessary
and within reach. Do you have hope that full d
creme will be passed?
Speaker 6 (12:50):
I have to say, sister, I wish I was more
humble and say like I didn't have any hopes for
this credition.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
I don't waste my time. I don't that shit if
I don't feature it happening.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
You hear that. That's the voice of a true icon.
Hearing Cecilia empowered by these wins is so affirming, and
it's because of the vision carried by people like her
that these intertwined issues are starting to click for others.
Speaker 5 (13:23):
The coalition for Walking Wall Trans included people that might
not even necessarily support the comprehensive decriminalization of sex work,
although I do think the Walking Wall Trans campaign actually
got people a further along on the sex work teacrim journey.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
That's Jared Truthio. When we talked to him, he was
serving as policy counsel to the New York Civil Liberties Union. Today,
he's an associate professor at Cuney's School of Law. He's
also a former sex worker. He helped write the proposed
legislation to decriminalize sex work. It was introduced in the
(13:59):
New York legislation just days after Layleen passed away.
Speaker 5 (14:03):
This is the first bill that was introduced in the
United States that would meaningfully and comprehensively decriminalize sex work.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
But what exactly does it mean to comprehensively decriminalize sex work. Well,
at a baseline level, consensual sex work would become legal
and the workers participating in it wouldn't be penalized. But
the legislation goes even further.
Speaker 5 (14:31):
It decriminalizes people that work with the worker. Let's say
that I am selling sex and person B is translating
for me, or I am selling sex and person B
is going with me to ensure safety, or I'm selling
sex and person B is negotiating with me. This bill
recognizes how sex workers organize around work.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
And finally, the bill also decriminalizes clients.
Speaker 5 (14:58):
For about ninety percent of the sex work arrests in
New York are a people of color for clients it's
actually a little bit higher. It's around ninety three percent,
even though we know that two thirds of clients are white.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
There are different models for decriminalizing sex work. One is
the end demand model, which originated in Sweden and is
used in a handful of other countries. It basically says
we won't arrest sex workers, but instead targets their clients.
Many activists argue that this is a flawed approach.
Speaker 5 (15:33):
The World Health Organization, Amnesty International, and most serious harm
reduction organizations recognize that in order to actually decriminalize the worker,
you also have to decriminalize the client. If you are
still criminalizing the client, you have massive amounts of surveillance
that are being weaponized against the worker. It is actually
(15:54):
more difficult for workers to do things like negotiate condom
use to screen clients that determine, hey, am I going
to be safe if I go with this human criminalizing
their clients only makes them have to go further underground
to find clients.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
That's why dcrimin why the organization Sicilias started, supports decriminalizing
consensual sex work in its entirety. Currently, the legislation is
in committee, which essentially means lawmakers can study it, see
what the public thinks, and make revisions. That all happens
(16:31):
before it's brought to the Assembly floor for a vote.
Speaker 5 (16:35):
We're in twenty twenty three now. It doesn't seem likely
that the bill will pass this year, but I will
tell you I have booked a tattoo appointment for twenty
twenty five when this bill passes. I believe in my heart,
of heart, in my bones, and my soul that we
will pass this bill in either twenty twenty five or
twenty twenty seven.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
An Meanwhile, the coalition that sex workers are building to
raise awareness and push for the legislation continues to grow.
Speaker 5 (17:02):
We can have a much longer conversation about puritanical views
on sex in this country. But even in this environment,
sex workers have just done a really good job of
forcing the public to see us as human and to
recognize that our safety matters.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Early steps toward decriminalization were already taking shape when Layleen
was alive, but they didn't save her, And as long
as people continue to be arrested for sex work and
force to the margins Leyleen's story remains a clearion call
for change. This past bring people came together at city
(17:46):
Hall to talk about many of the interconnecting issues that
affected Leayleen. The rally was called care not Criminalization, a
message that united people invested in issues from sex work
arrest to mental health care to the conditions on Rikers
Island today.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
I'm here to raise my voice and that so many
of my trans sisters who has spent criminalize and constantly
harassed by the police.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
One thing was clear, abolishing walking while trans wasn't the
end of this fire.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Sex work is work and it's important to continue protecting
our community. When we said trans, you said power, trans trust.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
But Laylen's demise wasn't just the result of a sex
work arrest, and another battle was taking shape. We'll be
right back, welcome back. After Layleen's death, the solitary unit
(19:00):
in the women's jail where she died was vacant for
a few weeks. Activists focused on closing it permanently. Leileen's
sister Milania quickly became a prominent figure in this effort.
Speaker 10 (19:13):
I am coming for writers, I am coming.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
After she spoke those words at the first Brooklyn Liberation
March in twenty twenty.
Speaker 11 (19:29):
Eileen Plonko should not have been in ripers to begin with.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Then Mayor Bill de Blasio held a press conference announcing
his intention to end solitary confinement in New York City.
Speaker 11 (19:41):
We can't bring her back, but we can make change
so that no one else goes through such a tragedy.
So let's take the next step. Let's end solitary confinement
all together.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
That was June twenty ninth, twenty twenty, a year after
Layleen's death. Deblasio immediately put a protocol into place barring
anyone with a number of serious health conditions like Leyleen's
seizure disorder from being housed in solitary. To end solitary altogether,
(20:15):
he said he would create a panel to investigate what
that policy should look like. What he didn't say is
when that policy would be enacted. It's been more than
three years since that announcement, and Deblasio is out of office.
Since twenty twenty, there have been panels and consultants and
(20:38):
more consultants. Some policies were drafted and some even passed,
but the final day for solitary confinement hasn't arrived yet.
Speaker 12 (20:48):
It is so hard to know if things have gotten
better since l'yleen's death.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
Here's WNYC and Gothams reporter Matt Katz.
Speaker 12 (20:59):
Certainly, Lailan's Blanco became a rallying cry. Leileen Polanco's name
was invoked at every rally and protest regarding the push
to end solitary confinement.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
One major piece of legislation was passed at the state
level less than a year after Deblasio's announcement. It's called
the Halt Solitary Confinement Act. HALT stands for Humane Alternatives
to long term solitary confinement.
Speaker 12 (21:29):
This act was seen as a momentous occasion because like
it was literally supposed to halt solitary confinement.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
The passage of this law was a key demand made
by activists rallying for Leyleen.
Speaker 13 (21:44):
Today, I'm thinking about Leileen Polanco.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Her name was mentioned by the bill sponsor, Senator Julius
Salazar on the floor of the New York State Legislature
during the vote.
Speaker 13 (21:56):
Solitary confinement in our caarcial system has not only cause
sickness in individuals, it has also made our society sick.
But in passing this bill today, we are taking a
necessary step to begin to heal.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Senator Solidar three recorded in the affirmative amongst the results
it the bill is fast to be clear, the law
doesn't end solitary confinement. It simply puts restrictions on how
it can be used.
Speaker 12 (22:34):
It prohibited the placement of any incarcerated person in solitary
confinement for more than fifteen days in a row, and
it required a range of rights for the people in
that environment.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Holding a prisoner in solitary confinement for more than fifteen
consecutive days is recognized as a form of torture by
the United Nations. And though the law imposed limitations around
who can be put in solitary and how often, some
of the act's most fundamental tenants go unenforced.
Speaker 12 (23:08):
The statistics that we saw in the summer of twenty twenty,
two months after the law was supposed to go into effect,
it showed that two hundred and twenty eight people were
held for longer than fifteen days, fifty were locked in
for between thirty one and ninety days, and of all
the people held in solitary units, the average length of
(23:29):
stay was sixteen point one days.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
So two months after the Halt Act passed, the New
York State Correctional Officers Union, representing the officers who work
in jails and prisons filed a lawsuit to overturn it.
They did not succeed, but the union countered with a
campaign to put pressure on politicians to reinstate solitary without restrictions.
(23:56):
CEOs argue that solitary confinement is necessary to control violence
insidecarceral settings.
Speaker 12 (24:03):
The problem with gels and prisons in America is politicians
can make all the laws they want, but once those
cell block doors close, it's hard to know what's going
on in there. It's hard to enforce rules that politicians
make on the outside, and you constantly hear stories about
(24:24):
various laws meant to make incarcerated situations more humane, stories
about those laws being violated.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Effort to buy lawmakers on the city level to strengthen
solitary regulations have also been hard to implement. The Risk
Management Accountability System or RMAS, was approved in New York
City in twenty twenty one. The measure is meant to
provide more supports or incarcerated folks who would have otherwise
(24:55):
been placed in solitary confinement.
Speaker 12 (24:58):
URMAS was rooted in giving them positive incentives to improve
their behavior. Therapeutic programming to address whatever mental and behavioral
health concerns they might have.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Again.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Among other things, the policy also set new limitations on
how many hours someone could be confined to a sell
alone each day.
Speaker 12 (25:19):
These new rules mandated that anybody who is charged with
a violation of the rules at Rikers who is then
sentenced to some sort of punitive segregation, they would get
access to legal representation and they would be given at
least ten hours every day to access the law library,
(25:41):
educational services, recreation and phones.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
While advocates still had concerns about this measure, the rollout
was highly anticipated.
Speaker 12 (25:53):
But this plan was never implemented. It requires like three
hundred all officers and captains to run this new system
around the clock, and COVID happens, and there's some labor
disputes and correction officers at Rikers Island stop showing up
(26:13):
to work in mass.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
In spring of twenty twenty, about thirty percent of CEOs
called out sick or unavailable to work, resulting in staff
shortages that will continue for two years. Officers claim this
was not an organized protest against the solitary confinement changes,
but their absence did put the reforms on hold. With
(26:38):
limited staff at Rikers Mayor Deblasio signed an executive order
declearing a state of emergency at the jail, effectively delaying
OURMAS implementation. The policy repeatedly got pushed back and officers
remained steadfast in their resistance. COO union men verse testified
(27:00):
their strong opposition to reforms at a city Jail's Oversight
committee hearing last year.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
My name is Reginald Fisher.
Speaker 14 (27:09):
I'm a correction officer currently working in the largest facility
on Rikers Island. This is a vital tool to take
back control of the situation. Restricted housing is not a
barbaric living condition.
Speaker 10 (27:22):
Rykers Island is not safe. It's not going to help
by removing the only tool that currently exists, such as
punitive segregation to maintain order and safety for incarcerated individuals.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
We took this job on force to protect the individual.
Speaker 8 (27:38):
Well, it's time to sell accent.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Who's protecting us right now? The RMAS plan is on
hold indefinitely. Nonetheless, some officials still claim solitary confinement was
eradicated In New York City. Lewis Molina was NYC's Correction
Commissioner for the past two years. Someone else took over
(28:01):
the role but under his tenure, he insists that he did,
in fact in solitary confinement. Here's Malina in July twenty
twenty two speaking to Madcats on New York Public Radio.
Speaker 15 (28:15):
We don't have anybody in solitary confinement here. We've ended
pet segregation a long time ago here in this department,
and I'm real proud of that.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Molina goes on to say that instead of solitary confinement,
the Department of Correction is using restrictive housing.
Speaker 15 (28:31):
So just to reconfirm the department does not practice solitary confinement,
we do have restrictive housing, and individuals in restrictive housing
get a minimum of seven hours out of cell time.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
To be clear, restrictive housing is technically where Leylen was held.
This is meant to be a variation on solitary confinement
with more out of cell time. But like we've said
before in the series, a lot of this comes down
to semantics. Layleen's housing cell was not differentiated in any
(29:07):
way from the traditional solitary cells in the women's cell.
People in restrictive housing often don't receive even close to
the full seven hours of time allowed out of their cells.
Sometimes they're let out just to be chained to a
desk right outside the cell door. Former Mayor Deblasio, the
(29:29):
GELS oversight body, and many others agree that Layleen's restrictive
housing unit was solitary confinement.
Speaker 12 (29:39):
My reporting shows that solitary confinement continues to exist. It's
just goes by many different names.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Here's Matt Katz again.
Speaker 12 (29:48):
The escalation units are caged showers. These showers are used
to hold people who the officers want to separate from
the rest of the population.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
In August of twenty tw a man named Brandon Rodriguez
died by suicide while being held in one of these showers.
Speaker 12 (30:08):
People can be held in these showers for as long
as a day, so that's another form of solitary confinement
that doesn't necessarily meet the definition of solitary confinement as
the correction commissioner would explain it, but it certainly sounds
like solitary confinnement.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
There's also the practice of security lockdowns, which can affect
large swaths of the riker's population at once.
Speaker 12 (30:31):
If there's a disturbance. Sometimes, if the officers decide they
want to do a search for a contrmand, they will
lock down a GEL and those lockdowns could go on
for such a long period of time that people are
locked in their cells for what might constitute solitary confinement
by most standards. There aren't really rules covering that kind
(30:53):
of thing, But lawyers tell me that once you're on lockdown,
if you're in a unit that's lockdown, you don't have
access to showers, you have to take a bath using
toilet water. There's no out of cell time. The provision
of food can be scarce and inconsistent.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
This also means people may be held without medical care,
including prescription medicines and the attention of doctors and nurses.
These issues still plague Wrikers and other jails in New
York State today. Solitary confinement is still being practiced with
(31:32):
new names but the same dehumanizing treatment, and it's a
hard pill to swallow. Even the policies meant to stop
solitary in Leyleen's name can't fully prevent someone from falling
into her same situation. Progress will take continued pressure from
(31:54):
activists reporting on the truth of what happens behind bars
and the and acknowledgment that this fight isn't over. We'll
be back in just a moment to hear about the
progress that was made for trans people at Rikers and
how easily it was reversed. We're back with after lives,
(32:36):
even with pushes to change solitary confinement policies and repealing
walking while trans legislation, there's a stark reality we face today.
Trans people will still have brushes with the carceral system,
and when that happens, it's important that we have support.
(32:57):
But the truth is that trans people who end up
behind bars are left with few resources tailored to them.
That's ultimately what happened to Leileen. There weren't enough people
looking out for her at Rikers. She was cut off
from the world as she struggled with her mental health
and was shuffled from housing unit to housing unit. As
(33:21):
much as the entire system needs to change, it's crucial
to have advocates on the inside to look out for
folks while that happens. After Layleen's death, the Department of
Correction established a unit with the promise of keeping the
best interests of LGBTQ plus people in mind.
Speaker 4 (33:42):
My role was just to be that support system. The
fact that this unit exist still alone really made us
rety h folks feel safer to be out because nothing
like this has ever existed before, So our presence alone
was really impactful to the mental health of folks on Rikers.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
That's Robin Robinson. They were a social worker in the
LGBTQ plus Affairs unit at Rikers Island. The unit was
in the works for a while, but after Layalen's death,
activists ramped up calls for new policies and better treatment
of trans and gender nonconforming people in jail. The unit
(34:25):
was officially established less than a month after Layalen's death,
and over time it grew from one employee to three.
Robin was that final employee to join the unit in
the spring of twenty twenty one.
Speaker 4 (34:40):
I was thinking, wow, like they hired three of us,
Like that must mean they're really seeing that support is needed.
So that alone, the fact that we were hired here
made me feel hopeful.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
Their job included assisting LGBTQ plus people with proper housing,
gender afarming, care and clothing, and helping with bail.
Speaker 4 (35:00):
We were able to connect because of shared experiences of
being LCHPQ, and we created our own little family, so
to speak.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
Maybe if this unit had existed when Leyleen was at rikers.
They could have connected her with one of the bail
funds they worked closely with, or maybe there would have
been somebody to advocate for her to stay in the
transgender housing unit instead of being moved to solitary confinement.
When you start to look at the what ifs of
(35:29):
Layleen's death, they really start to pile up, and her
story stayed top of mind for people working in the unit.
Speaker 4 (35:38):
Within the LHBQ unit, we discussed her passing and kind
of gave us that motivation too, like this is why
we need to be here, so that we can avoid
or at least attempt to avoid unnecessary deaths like this.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
In spite of resistance from correction officers and rampant transphobia,
Robin and their colleagues were able to make changes. They
were even able to bring some joy into a pretty
bleak place. One bright spot was a Christmas ball thrown
in the transgender housing unit in December of twenty twenty one.
(36:16):
The LGBTQ Plus Affairs unit found speakers and made a playlist.
The folks living in the unit transformed blankets into skirts
and tied up their uniforms so they looked like crop
tops women who were considered shy came out of their
shells with amazing lip syncs and dance routines. You know
(36:37):
how our people do that. Christmas Ball was a reminder
we can always create community, even in the darkest places.
But like many things that exist within a carceral system,
even those that are meant to be progressive and for looking,
(37:01):
this unit and the support they brought had severe challenges
and limitations.
Speaker 8 (37:07):
There is literal gatekeeping atreakers.
Speaker 1 (37:11):
Kel Savage worked with Robin as a social worker in
the LGBTQ plus Affairs unit.
Speaker 16 (37:16):
Well I definitely felt at the time that the position
was for optics to make the doc look like they
were responding to the obvious humanitarian crisis against the transgender population,
especially with Lealeen. It was surprising how much we were
(37:38):
able to do despite a lot of the barriers.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Kel's was frequently faced with emergencies and situations of life
or death, and it was hard not to fill Jaden.
Speaker 16 (37:51):
I had somebody messaging me on a tablet or like
I'm gonna slip my wrists, like I'm done, and I
couldn't get there quickly and I would have to call
the facility and like this individual they're in Unit Da
Da Da, you have to do something.
Speaker 1 (38:07):
On the other end of the line, kels sense of
urgency wasn't match.
Speaker 8 (38:12):
And it was just like who are you?
Speaker 16 (38:13):
And then I'd have to say, like, my name is
Kels are part of the LGBTQ Unit Da Da Da,
And they're like what the hell is that? Like They're like,
I don't even know what you are. And I was like, okay,
well I'm calling from a DOC number and like I
am telling you somebody right now is trying to kill themselves.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
It felt impossible to push up against the system at Rikers.
Even in dire circumstances. All the Kels and Robin could
do was try their best to positively impact the lives
of individual people. That's what kept them going. Still. About
six months after they started working at Rikers, something shifted.
Speaker 4 (38:56):
I think the turning point for me was when this
new administration Keemen with Eric Adams, we started to lose
our power so to speak, and being able to advocate
for folks going into see for housing for example, every
time we would have a conversation about transphobia, it was
like one hear and after the other.
Speaker 17 (39:15):
So I'm here today to once again use.
Speaker 4 (39:17):
The term you're going to mayor.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
Adams, who came into office in January twenty twenty two,
is a former New York Police Department captain, and.
Speaker 17 (39:27):
I think far too long we have demonized those men
and women who are law enforcement offices.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Just before his inauguration, he made it clear that he
stood firmly with correction officers at rikers. This is a
part of the speech he made when announcing Malina as
Correction Commissioner.
Speaker 17 (39:49):
Just as I'm telling my cops, I have your backs
when you do the right thing, I'm saying to this union, I.
Speaker 8 (39:55):
Have your back.
Speaker 1 (39:58):
Adams made a lot of change is right off the bat,
and several key allies to the LGBTQ Plus Affairs Unit
were fired. Kel's and Robin started to feel like their
jobs were becoming obsolete, all titled and no influence.
Speaker 16 (40:14):
I started to feel complicit with the mistreatment of people
in custody, and I couldn't do that.
Speaker 8 (40:21):
If we want to talk about.
Speaker 16 (40:22):
The basic rules of social work, it's you know, the
client comes first, and I could not be a part
of an agency that was.
Speaker 8 (40:31):
Killing my clients.
Speaker 16 (40:33):
And at that point I felt that I would make
more of an impact if I resigned and spoke out.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
Kel's last day was in April of twenty twenty two,
less than a year after she started. Robin quit a
few months later. As a transperson of color who connected
with the people they worked with, Robin's work was deeply personal,
and I was their resignation.
Speaker 4 (41:02):
It got to a point where it's like, Okay, if
I don't leave, I am going to commit suicide, like
I was at my breaking point. So I had to
make the decision to leave, and to be honest, I
still regret the decision because I feel like I abandoned
my community for doing so.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
The units still exists today, but as left with just
a single employee.
Speaker 4 (41:25):
One person is not enough. I don't think much change
can be done with just one person, and without the
support of staff, like especially from the commissioner, like other departments,
not much change is going to happen.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
The policies made in Leyleen's name have all played out differently.
The walking while Transer pill has successfully been enacted and
helped fuel a larger movement. Other policies have been harder
to enforce or have fallen apart, and that's hard to
sit with. I heard from organizers and from Leileen's family,
(42:02):
how frustrating it's been.
Speaker 3 (42:04):
I'm a huge opponent that every person is meant to
do their part to create something.
Speaker 2 (42:09):
In the world.
Speaker 1 (42:10):
Elliel, the organizer of Leileen's rally, who you've heard from earlier,
does this work day in and day out, year after year.
Speaker 3 (42:19):
It is about individuals figuring out what they're best suited for,
and movement.
Speaker 1 (42:25):
Work to sustain that without losing hope. It's important for
him to resist complacency and uphold his belief that collective
action can make a difference.
Speaker 3 (42:38):
I think that many of us have been complacent with
posting on social media and giving some money, and that's
not nearly enough in order to actually respond to the
level of attacks that trans people are facing in this
country right now. So finding different ways to plug in
because there's definitely people waiting for you to plug in.
Speaker 1 (42:59):
Eliel wants to show up for trans lives all the time,
not only in the wake of death.
Speaker 3 (43:05):
I continue to just think about ways to tell Leyleen Pulongfos.
Speaker 1 (43:09):
Story because it's people's lives that ultimately give this work
meaning and purpose.
Speaker 3 (43:17):
Often we end up minimizing individual's experiences around the police
or stayed to those couple of minutes or those couple
of days are we've detained, and it really minimizes.
Speaker 2 (43:28):
And ignores the breath of life the person that we lost.
Speaker 3 (43:32):
And I got to learn so much about Leileen, And
you know, I got to hear kind of a person
she was growing up, how she cares so much about animals,
how she started growing up in the ballroom, seeing she
liked to go out and dance. And I was like,
there's so much about leilein that I really love to
learn about.
Speaker 1 (43:47):
Elliell Like myself and so many others could see ourselves
in aspects of Leileen's life. And that's what makes her
story a rallying cry. It's how she lives on and
it's why we need to keep fighting.
Speaker 3 (44:04):
Organized organized grants when story radicalize me and help me
become a better organizer, and that a person I attribute
so much to pushing for justice.
Speaker 1 (44:15):
For the next week on Afterlives, we'll look to the future,
the future of Rikers, trans rites and Layleen's family.
Speaker 10 (44:29):
I still try to look for her and everything, and
I mean everything, even if it's an animal that comes
up to me.
Speaker 18 (44:35):
I'm like Leileen, I'm here to make what is really
a historic announcement, New York City will close the Rikers
Island jail facility.
Speaker 5 (44:48):
One of the strategies to try to attack.
Speaker 9 (44:52):
And ultimately eliminate trans people is to posit us as
an ideology, not as human beings.
Speaker 4 (45:00):
Of a future of trans people being safe.
Speaker 1 (45:07):
Thank you so much for listening to Afterlives. You can
find this episode and future ones on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please leave
us a rating and review to let us know what
you think. After Lives is a production of iHeart Podcasts
(45:27):
and The Outspoken Podcast Network in partnership with the School
of Humans. I'm your host and creator Raquel Willis. Dylan
Hoyer is our senior producer and scriptwriter. Our associate producer
is Joey pat Sound design and engineering by Daisy Makes
Radio Productions, with additional support from Jess Crinchitch, Story editing
(45:53):
by Aaron Edwards and Julia Furlan, fact checking by Savannah Hugiley.
Our show are is by Mackay Baldwin. Score composed by
Wisley Murray. Our production manager is Daisy Church. Special thanks
to L. E. L. Cruz for the recordings of the
Brooklyn Liberation March. Executive producers include me Raquel Willis, and
(46:19):
Jay Brunson from The Outspoken Podcast Network, Michael Alder June
and Noel Brown from iHeart Podcasts, Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr,
and Elsie Crowley from School of Humans and The Cats Company.
Speaker 12 (46:41):
School of Humans
Afterlives is a production of iHeart Podcasts and The Outspoken
podcast Network in partnership with School of Humans. Just the
Heads Up, the following episode discusses transphobia, sexism, racism, physical violence,
(00:22):
police violence, sexual assault, and suicide. Take care while listening
when trans folks die, the news cycle doesn't usually last long.
More often than not, it's nonexistent. There might be outrage
on social media, but then a lot of people move
(00:47):
on until it happens again. But Leileen's life and her
tragic death were different. Something shifted with her story.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Story change me in so many different ways.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Eliel Cruz is an organizer who we spoke to in
our last episode. He was behind several rallies on Leyleen's behalf.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Seeing the ways that Leileen was entrapped to the criminal
legal system, everything from the employment discrimination that she faced,
to her entering sex work as I mean a survival
to them being arrested for it, to being thrown to
solitary environment really helped clarify what I thought the criminal
legal system was doing.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Every part of the system failed Leyleen, which wasn't surprising
in the least, especially in our community. Her death sparked
an intense desire within LIOL to demand change, and l'ileen's
story led a lot of people to see the need
for that change.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
On a political level. Her experience within the criminal legal
system pushed me to understand abolition in a way that
I hadn't before. There's no way to actually avoid or
prevent violence within the system, because this is what it
structured and set up to be. It's a system of
punishment and often is used to throw away queer transit.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Ble of color.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
I'm Raquel Willis and this is Afterlives, episode six of
(02:38):
Rallying Crime. To prevent another death like Layleen's from happening,
Eliel joined a group of fellow activists and got to work.
There was that initial rally at Foley Square in her name,
(02:58):
but that was just the start.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
The very beginning.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
My colleague and I sat down and began to formulate
what would be the demands in terms of both power
ways that we could prevent violence to happen like it
happened to Dailan within Rikers and outside of Rikers. That
led her to get into records in the first place.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Layleen's community decided that her story would not end in tragedy.
In fact, it began a fierce march toward justice. Organizers
weren't planning to just make cut and dry policy suggestions. Now,
they wanted to show how legislation can impact the life.
(03:39):
The most essential part of changing the system would be
showing the world what Rikers refused to recognize that Leyleen
was a human being.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Trying to find ways to humanize and tell the story
of Leileen for her twenty seven years of life previous
to being rested and thrown into Rikers and then thrown
into solitary confinement.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Alone where she ended up dying.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Leileen could have and she was in some ways you
demonized around her sex work as a means of survival.
She was someone who was also mentally ill and allegedly
a taxi cab in the middle of the mental health
crisis which sent her to Rikers.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
It's a tricky thing to maneuver.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Elliel, along with Leileen's origin and Chilsen families, friends and
fellow activists, repeated her story again and again at rallies
and in interviews with the press. Momentum grew, and on
June twenty sixth, twenty nineteen, two and a half weeks
after Layleen's death, this coalition gathered and publicly read policy
(04:54):
demands in front of City Hall in Manhattan. Layleen's name
was invoked to shift the laws around things that impacted
her life, like sex work and solitary confinement. Activists demanded
that the city improved treatment of incarcerated trans people and
(05:14):
other gender non conforming folks. Every year, the anniversary of
Layleen's death is a reminder to ask has anything really changed?
Could this still happen one or two, or even now
four years later? After all, we've seen some major wins
(05:35):
in the wake of Layalen's death. A few happened pretty quickly.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
The only reason that Layleen's story ended up getting so
many results in the ways that it did was because
of this sustained public outcrying media attention that we were
able to get.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Without it, all these things would have happened in a year.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Since that early burst of attention, Ellie has seen several
policies fall short of what organizers hope for. There have
been compromises, rollbacks, and a lot of resistance.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
A lot of the big, splashy headlines, unfortunately haven't fully
come to fruition or policy wins, haven't actually come through
or have been walked back. How do we continue both
as a public to tell those stories no matter how
long it takes or how many years down the road,
that we continue to have the same energy or care
about the stories because the families are definitely still out there.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
In this episode, we're talking about three major policies that
are now a part of Leileen's legacy. We want to
understand could her death still happen today?
Speaker 5 (06:53):
Six?
Speaker 6 (06:58):
It is really sad times we have to find these
terrible situations in order to create momentum. But in my sadness,
I thought this is the moment to act.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
That's Sicilia Genteeley from previous episodes. She's a formally incarcerated
sex worker and founder of d Crime New York, an
advocacy group dedicated to decriminalizing sex work in New York State.
She brought together a diverse coalition to draft legislation.
Speaker 6 (07:32):
I am a huge defender of people who engage in
the sex trade or use drugs right because these two
things that are highly criminalized are not most of the
times the result of choice.
Speaker 4 (07:48):
And how much is the choice if it's the only choice.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
A key demand from supporters after Lalen's death was to
repeat the so called walking while trans law. The policy
criminalized loitering for the purpose of sex work. It was
weaponized against trans women from all walks of life. These
struggles and experiences are connected, and Layleen's death illuminated those
(08:19):
connections for so many people.
Speaker 6 (08:21):
We understand who we go through in life because we
belong to the same community that brings you to another
level of community.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
In the months following Leileen's death, the Queen's District Attorney
Race elevated sex work criminalization as a critical issue for
the city. The following year, then Mayor Bill de Blasio
was asked whether he thought sex workers should be arrested.
He said no, referencing l'ileen's story. By twenty twenty one,
(08:56):
New York States loitering for the purpose of prostitution law
was repealed.
Speaker 7 (09:01):
I'm thinking today about that extraordinarily powerful moment from this
past summer's Black Lives Matter protests.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Here's New York State Senator Brad Hoyleman, single, who sponsored
its repeal on the Assembly floor. The day of the vote, more.
Speaker 7 (09:18):
Than fifteen thousand New Yorkers he gathered outside of the
Brooklyn Museum to March for Justice in This march was
led by transgender women of color, and we're on the
Senate floor today to reaffirm that message we heard at
the Brooklyn Museum Black trans Lives Matter. The bill we're
(09:39):
passing today repeals an outdated and infamous part of our
penal Code, Section two four zero point three to seven.
Just a series of numbers, but it gives police the
power to stop or detain transgender women for simply walking
down the street.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
I proudly vote on mister President announced the results.
Speaker 8 (10:04):
I was forty five May sixteen.
Speaker 7 (10:06):
The bill is passed.
Speaker 9 (10:09):
What happened with the walking Mall trans bill, I would
have to say, was absolutely phenomenal. That was phenomenal work.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
That's Kristin Leavelle, a formally incarcerated sex worker turned film director.
Her documentary The Stroll centers the decades long story of
trans sex workers of color in New York's meat packing district.
This repeal was a huge win for people like Kristin
and Cecilia, who became accustomed to excessive harassment and arrests
(10:40):
from police every time they went outside. It also sealed
thousands of convictions, meaning people once convicted of loitering would
no longer have to deal with many of the consequences
of a criminal record. I was like, Oh my god,
are you kidding me?
Speaker 9 (10:57):
As flow as New York City a they are trying
to change and make the difference.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
In twenty twenty two, there were just over one hundred
arrests for sex work related crimes in New York City.
That's compared to almost twenty thousand in nineteen eighty five.
Repealing the walking while translaw was an important part of
this downward trend, but for activists, decreasing arrest numbers isn't enough.
(11:30):
If there's anything I've learned from Layleen's story, it's that
as nice as it sounds for das or police officers
to say they're going to change policy, it's far too
easy for people to slip through the cracks. The NYPD
said they would stop arresting sex workers in twenty seventeen,
(11:53):
but months later Leyleen was arrested in a sex work sting.
The DA said it would stop seeking bell for misdemeanors,
and yet over a year later, Leyleen's bell was set,
a burden that triggered the cascade of events that led
to her death. Every sex work arrest that still happens
(12:17):
is a chance for somebody to succumb to the same
faith as Leileen, which makes higher level policy change and
adherence to that policy so important. Fully decriminalizing sex work
(12:39):
may sound ambitious, but people like Cecilia believe it's necessary
and within reach. Do you have hope that full d
creme will be passed?
Speaker 6 (12:50):
I have to say, sister, I wish I was more
humble and say like I didn't have any hopes for
this credition.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
I don't waste my time. I don't that shit if
I don't feature it happening.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
You hear that. That's the voice of a true icon.
Hearing Cecilia empowered by these wins is so affirming, and
it's because of the vision carried by people like her
that these intertwined issues are starting to click for others.
Speaker 5 (13:23):
The coalition for Walking Wall Trans included people that might
not even necessarily support the comprehensive decriminalization of sex work,
although I do think the Walking Wall Trans campaign actually
got people a further along on the sex work teacrim journey.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
That's Jared Truthio. When we talked to him, he was
serving as policy counsel to the New York Civil Liberties Union. Today,
he's an associate professor at Cuney's School of Law. He's
also a former sex worker. He helped write the proposed
legislation to decriminalize sex work. It was introduced in the
(13:59):
New York legislation just days after Layleen passed away.
Speaker 5 (14:03):
This is the first bill that was introduced in the
United States that would meaningfully and comprehensively decriminalize sex work.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
But what exactly does it mean to comprehensively decriminalize sex work. Well,
at a baseline level, consensual sex work would become legal
and the workers participating in it wouldn't be penalized. But
the legislation goes even further.
Speaker 5 (14:31):
It decriminalizes people that work with the worker. Let's say
that I am selling sex and person B is translating
for me, or I am selling sex and person B
is going with me to ensure safety, or I'm selling
sex and person B is negotiating with me. This bill
recognizes how sex workers organize around work.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
And finally, the bill also decriminalizes clients.
Speaker 5 (14:58):
For about ninety percent of the sex work arrests in
New York are a people of color for clients it's
actually a little bit higher. It's around ninety three percent,
even though we know that two thirds of clients are white.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
There are different models for decriminalizing sex work. One is
the end demand model, which originated in Sweden and is
used in a handful of other countries. It basically says
we won't arrest sex workers, but instead targets their clients.
Many activists argue that this is a flawed approach.
Speaker 5 (15:33):
The World Health Organization, Amnesty International, and most serious harm
reduction organizations recognize that in order to actually decriminalize the worker,
you also have to decriminalize the client. If you are
still criminalizing the client, you have massive amounts of surveillance
that are being weaponized against the worker. It is actually
(15:54):
more difficult for workers to do things like negotiate condom
use to screen clients that determine, hey, am I going
to be safe if I go with this human criminalizing
their clients only makes them have to go further underground
to find clients.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
That's why dcrimin why the organization Sicilias started, supports decriminalizing
consensual sex work in its entirety. Currently, the legislation is
in committee, which essentially means lawmakers can study it, see
what the public thinks, and make revisions. That all happens
(16:31):
before it's brought to the Assembly floor for a vote.
Speaker 5 (16:35):
We're in twenty twenty three now. It doesn't seem likely
that the bill will pass this year, but I will
tell you I have booked a tattoo appointment for twenty
twenty five when this bill passes. I believe in my heart,
of heart, in my bones, and my soul that we
will pass this bill in either twenty twenty five or
twenty twenty seven.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
An Meanwhile, the coalition that sex workers are building to
raise awareness and push for the legislation continues to grow.
Speaker 5 (17:02):
We can have a much longer conversation about puritanical views
on sex in this country. But even in this environment,
sex workers have just done a really good job of
forcing the public to see us as human and to
recognize that our safety matters.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Early steps toward decriminalization were already taking shape when Layleen
was alive, but they didn't save her, And as long
as people continue to be arrested for sex work and
force to the margins Leyleen's story remains a clearion call
for change. This past bring people came together at city
(17:46):
Hall to talk about many of the interconnecting issues that
affected Leayleen. The rally was called care not Criminalization, a
message that united people invested in issues from sex work
arrest to mental health care to the conditions on Rikers
Island today.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
I'm here to raise my voice and that so many
of my trans sisters who has spent criminalize and constantly
harassed by the police.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
One thing was clear, abolishing walking while trans wasn't the
end of this fire.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Sex work is work and it's important to continue protecting
our community. When we said trans, you said power, trans trust.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
But Laylen's demise wasn't just the result of a sex
work arrest, and another battle was taking shape. We'll be
right back, welcome back. After Layleen's death, the solitary unit
(19:00):
in the women's jail where she died was vacant for
a few weeks. Activists focused on closing it permanently. Leileen's
sister Milania quickly became a prominent figure in this effort.
Speaker 10 (19:13):
I am coming for writers, I am coming.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
After she spoke those words at the first Brooklyn Liberation
March in twenty twenty.
Speaker 11 (19:29):
Eileen Plonko should not have been in ripers to begin with.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Then Mayor Bill de Blasio held a press conference announcing
his intention to end solitary confinement in New York City.
Speaker 11 (19:41):
We can't bring her back, but we can make change
so that no one else goes through such a tragedy.
So let's take the next step. Let's end solitary confinement
all together.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
That was June twenty ninth, twenty twenty, a year after
Layleen's death. Deblasio immediately put a protocol into place barring
anyone with a number of serious health conditions like Leyleen's
seizure disorder from being housed in solitary. To end solitary altogether,
(20:15):
he said he would create a panel to investigate what
that policy should look like. What he didn't say is
when that policy would be enacted. It's been more than
three years since that announcement, and Deblasio is out of office.
Since twenty twenty, there have been panels and consultants and
(20:38):
more consultants. Some policies were drafted and some even passed,
but the final day for solitary confinement hasn't arrived yet.
Speaker 12 (20:48):
It is so hard to know if things have gotten
better since l'yleen's death.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
Here's WNYC and Gothams reporter Matt Katz.
Speaker 12 (20:59):
Certainly, Lailan's Blanco became a rallying cry. Leileen Polanco's name
was invoked at every rally and protest regarding the push
to end solitary confinement.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
One major piece of legislation was passed at the state
level less than a year after Deblasio's announcement. It's called
the Halt Solitary Confinement Act. HALT stands for Humane Alternatives
to long term solitary confinement.
Speaker 12 (21:29):
This act was seen as a momentous occasion because like
it was literally supposed to halt solitary confinement.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
The passage of this law was a key demand made
by activists rallying for Leyleen.
Speaker 13 (21:44):
Today, I'm thinking about Leileen Polanco.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Her name was mentioned by the bill sponsor, Senator Julius
Salazar on the floor of the New York State Legislature
during the vote.
Speaker 13 (21:56):
Solitary confinement in our caarcial system has not only cause
sickness in individuals, it has also made our society sick.
But in passing this bill today, we are taking a
necessary step to begin to heal.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Senator Solidar three recorded in the affirmative amongst the results
it the bill is fast to be clear, the law
doesn't end solitary confinement. It simply puts restrictions on how
it can be used.
Speaker 12 (22:34):
It prohibited the placement of any incarcerated person in solitary
confinement for more than fifteen days in a row, and
it required a range of rights for the people in
that environment.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Holding a prisoner in solitary confinement for more than fifteen
consecutive days is recognized as a form of torture by
the United Nations. And though the law imposed limitations around
who can be put in solitary and how often, some
of the act's most fundamental tenants go unenforced.
Speaker 12 (23:08):
The statistics that we saw in the summer of twenty twenty,
two months after the law was supposed to go into effect,
it showed that two hundred and twenty eight people were
held for longer than fifteen days, fifty were locked in
for between thirty one and ninety days, and of all
the people held in solitary units, the average length of
(23:29):
stay was sixteen point one days.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
So two months after the Halt Act passed, the New
York State Correctional Officers Union, representing the officers who work
in jails and prisons filed a lawsuit to overturn it.
They did not succeed, but the union countered with a
campaign to put pressure on politicians to reinstate solitary without restrictions.
(23:56):
CEOs argue that solitary confinement is necessary to control violence
insidecarceral settings.
Speaker 12 (24:03):
The problem with gels and prisons in America is politicians
can make all the laws they want, but once those
cell block doors close, it's hard to know what's going
on in there. It's hard to enforce rules that politicians
make on the outside, and you constantly hear stories about
(24:24):
various laws meant to make incarcerated situations more humane, stories
about those laws being violated.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Effort to buy lawmakers on the city level to strengthen
solitary regulations have also been hard to implement. The Risk
Management Accountability System or RMAS, was approved in New York
City in twenty twenty one. The measure is meant to
provide more supports or incarcerated folks who would have otherwise
(24:55):
been placed in solitary confinement.
Speaker 12 (24:58):
URMAS was rooted in giving them positive incentives to improve
their behavior. Therapeutic programming to address whatever mental and behavioral
health concerns they might have.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Again.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Among other things, the policy also set new limitations on
how many hours someone could be confined to a sell
alone each day.
Speaker 12 (25:19):
These new rules mandated that anybody who is charged with
a violation of the rules at Rikers who is then
sentenced to some sort of punitive segregation, they would get
access to legal representation and they would be given at
least ten hours every day to access the law library,
(25:41):
educational services, recreation and phones.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
While advocates still had concerns about this measure, the rollout
was highly anticipated.
Speaker 12 (25:53):
But this plan was never implemented. It requires like three
hundred all officers and captains to run this new system
around the clock, and COVID happens, and there's some labor
disputes and correction officers at Rikers Island stop showing up
(26:13):
to work in mass.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
In spring of twenty twenty, about thirty percent of CEOs
called out sick or unavailable to work, resulting in staff
shortages that will continue for two years. Officers claim this
was not an organized protest against the solitary confinement changes,
but their absence did put the reforms on hold. With
(26:38):
limited staff at Rikers Mayor Deblasio signed an executive order
declearing a state of emergency at the jail, effectively delaying
OURMAS implementation. The policy repeatedly got pushed back and officers
remained steadfast in their resistance. COO union men verse testified
(27:00):
their strong opposition to reforms at a city Jail's Oversight
committee hearing last year.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
My name is Reginald Fisher.
Speaker 14 (27:09):
I'm a correction officer currently working in the largest facility
on Rikers Island. This is a vital tool to take
back control of the situation. Restricted housing is not a
barbaric living condition.
Speaker 10 (27:22):
Rykers Island is not safe. It's not going to help
by removing the only tool that currently exists, such as
punitive segregation to maintain order and safety for incarcerated individuals.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
We took this job on force to protect the individual.
Speaker 8 (27:38):
Well, it's time to sell accent.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Who's protecting us right now? The RMAS plan is on
hold indefinitely. Nonetheless, some officials still claim solitary confinement was
eradicated In New York City. Lewis Molina was NYC's Correction
Commissioner for the past two years. Someone else took over
(28:01):
the role but under his tenure, he insists that he did,
in fact in solitary confinement. Here's Malina in July twenty
twenty two speaking to Madcats on New York Public Radio.
Speaker 15 (28:15):
We don't have anybody in solitary confinement here. We've ended
pet segregation a long time ago here in this department,
and I'm real proud of that.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Molina goes on to say that instead of solitary confinement,
the Department of Correction is using restrictive housing.
Speaker 15 (28:31):
So just to reconfirm the department does not practice solitary confinement,
we do have restrictive housing, and individuals in restrictive housing
get a minimum of seven hours out of cell time.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
To be clear, restrictive housing is technically where Leylen was held.
This is meant to be a variation on solitary confinement
with more out of cell time. But like we've said
before in the series, a lot of this comes down
to semantics. Layleen's housing cell was not differentiated in any
(29:07):
way from the traditional solitary cells in the women's cell.
People in restrictive housing often don't receive even close to
the full seven hours of time allowed out of their cells.
Sometimes they're let out just to be chained to a
desk right outside the cell door. Former Mayor Deblasio, the
(29:29):
GELS oversight body, and many others agree that Layleen's restrictive
housing unit was solitary confinement.
Speaker 12 (29:39):
My reporting shows that solitary confinement continues to exist. It's
just goes by many different names.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Here's Matt Katz again.
Speaker 12 (29:48):
The escalation units are caged showers. These showers are used
to hold people who the officers want to separate from
the rest of the population.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
In August of twenty tw a man named Brandon Rodriguez
died by suicide while being held in one of these showers.
Speaker 12 (30:08):
People can be held in these showers for as long
as a day, so that's another form of solitary confinement
that doesn't necessarily meet the definition of solitary confinement as
the correction commissioner would explain it, but it certainly sounds
like solitary confinnement.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
There's also the practice of security lockdowns, which can affect
large swaths of the riker's population at once.
Speaker 12 (30:31):
If there's a disturbance. Sometimes, if the officers decide they
want to do a search for a contrmand, they will
lock down a GEL and those lockdowns could go on
for such a long period of time that people are
locked in their cells for what might constitute solitary confinement
by most standards. There aren't really rules covering that kind
(30:53):
of thing, But lawyers tell me that once you're on lockdown,
if you're in a unit that's lockdown, you don't have
access to showers, you have to take a bath using
toilet water. There's no out of cell time. The provision
of food can be scarce and inconsistent.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
This also means people may be held without medical care,
including prescription medicines and the attention of doctors and nurses.
These issues still plague Wrikers and other jails in New
York State today. Solitary confinement is still being practiced with
(31:32):
new names but the same dehumanizing treatment, and it's a
hard pill to swallow. Even the policies meant to stop
solitary in Leyleen's name can't fully prevent someone from falling
into her same situation. Progress will take continued pressure from
(31:54):
activists reporting on the truth of what happens behind bars
and the and acknowledgment that this fight isn't over. We'll
be back in just a moment to hear about the
progress that was made for trans people at Rikers and
how easily it was reversed. We're back with after lives,
(32:36):
even with pushes to change solitary confinement policies and repealing
walking while trans legislation, there's a stark reality we face today.
Trans people will still have brushes with the carceral system,
and when that happens, it's important that we have support.
(32:57):
But the truth is that trans people who end up
behind bars are left with few resources tailored to them.
That's ultimately what happened to Leileen. There weren't enough people
looking out for her at Rikers. She was cut off
from the world as she struggled with her mental health
and was shuffled from housing unit to housing unit. As
(33:21):
much as the entire system needs to change, it's crucial
to have advocates on the inside to look out for
folks while that happens. After Layleen's death, the Department of
Correction established a unit with the promise of keeping the
best interests of LGBTQ plus people in mind.
Speaker 4 (33:42):
My role was just to be that support system. The
fact that this unit exist still alone really made us
rety h folks feel safer to be out because nothing
like this has ever existed before, So our presence alone
was really impactful to the mental health of folks on Rikers.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
That's Robin Robinson. They were a social worker in the
LGBTQ plus Affairs unit at Rikers Island. The unit was
in the works for a while, but after Layalen's death,
activists ramped up calls for new policies and better treatment
of trans and gender nonconforming people in jail. The unit
(34:25):
was officially established less than a month after Layalen's death,
and over time it grew from one employee to three.
Robin was that final employee to join the unit in
the spring of twenty twenty one.
Speaker 4 (34:40):
I was thinking, wow, like they hired three of us,
Like that must mean they're really seeing that support is needed.
So that alone, the fact that we were hired here
made me feel hopeful.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
Their job included assisting LGBTQ plus people with proper housing,
gender afarming, care and clothing, and helping with bail.
Speaker 4 (35:00):
We were able to connect because of shared experiences of
being LCHPQ, and we created our own little family, so
to speak.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
Maybe if this unit had existed when Leyleen was at rikers.
They could have connected her with one of the bail
funds they worked closely with, or maybe there would have
been somebody to advocate for her to stay in the
transgender housing unit instead of being moved to solitary confinement.
When you start to look at the what ifs of
(35:29):
Layleen's death, they really start to pile up, and her
story stayed top of mind for people working in the unit.
Speaker 4 (35:38):
Within the LHBQ unit, we discussed her passing and kind
of gave us that motivation too, like this is why
we need to be here, so that we can avoid
or at least attempt to avoid unnecessary deaths like this.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
In spite of resistance from correction officers and rampant transphobia,
Robin and their colleagues were able to make changes. They
were even able to bring some joy into a pretty
bleak place. One bright spot was a Christmas ball thrown
in the transgender housing unit in December of twenty twenty one.
(36:16):
The LGBTQ Plus Affairs unit found speakers and made a playlist.
The folks living in the unit transformed blankets into skirts
and tied up their uniforms so they looked like crop
tops women who were considered shy came out of their
shells with amazing lip syncs and dance routines. You know
(36:37):
how our people do that. Christmas Ball was a reminder
we can always create community, even in the darkest places.
But like many things that exist within a carceral system,
even those that are meant to be progressive and for looking,
(37:01):
this unit and the support they brought had severe challenges
and limitations.
Speaker 8 (37:07):
There is literal gatekeeping atreakers.
Speaker 1 (37:11):
Kel Savage worked with Robin as a social worker in
the LGBTQ plus Affairs unit.
Speaker 16 (37:16):
Well I definitely felt at the time that the position
was for optics to make the doc look like they
were responding to the obvious humanitarian crisis against the transgender population,
especially with Lealeen. It was surprising how much we were
(37:38):
able to do despite a lot of the barriers.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Kel's was frequently faced with emergencies and situations of life
or death, and it was hard not to fill Jaden.
Speaker 16 (37:51):
I had somebody messaging me on a tablet or like
I'm gonna slip my wrists, like I'm done, and I
couldn't get there quickly and I would have to call
the facility and like this individual they're in Unit Da
Da Da, you have to do something.
Speaker 1 (38:07):
On the other end of the line, kels sense of
urgency wasn't match.
Speaker 8 (38:12):
And it was just like who are you?
Speaker 16 (38:13):
And then I'd have to say, like, my name is
Kels are part of the LGBTQ Unit Da Da Da,
And they're like what the hell is that? Like They're like,
I don't even know what you are. And I was like, okay,
well I'm calling from a DOC number and like I
am telling you somebody right now is trying to kill themselves.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
It felt impossible to push up against the system at Rikers.
Even in dire circumstances. All the Kels and Robin could
do was try their best to positively impact the lives
of individual people. That's what kept them going. Still. About
six months after they started working at Rikers, something shifted.
Speaker 4 (38:56):
I think the turning point for me was when this
new administration Keemen with Eric Adams, we started to lose
our power so to speak, and being able to advocate
for folks going into see for housing for example, every
time we would have a conversation about transphobia, it was
like one hear and after the other.
Speaker 17 (39:15):
So I'm here today to once again use.
Speaker 4 (39:17):
The term you're going to mayor.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
Adams, who came into office in January twenty twenty two,
is a former New York Police Department captain, and.
Speaker 17 (39:27):
I think far too long we have demonized those men
and women who are law enforcement offices.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Just before his inauguration, he made it clear that he
stood firmly with correction officers at rikers. This is a
part of the speech he made when announcing Malina as
Correction Commissioner.
Speaker 17 (39:49):
Just as I'm telling my cops, I have your backs
when you do the right thing, I'm saying to this union, I.
Speaker 8 (39:55):
Have your back.
Speaker 1 (39:58):
Adams made a lot of change is right off the bat,
and several key allies to the LGBTQ Plus Affairs Unit
were fired. Kel's and Robin started to feel like their
jobs were becoming obsolete, all titled and no influence.
Speaker 16 (40:14):
I started to feel complicit with the mistreatment of people
in custody, and I couldn't do that.
Speaker 8 (40:21):
If we want to talk about.
Speaker 16 (40:22):
The basic rules of social work, it's you know, the
client comes first, and I could not be a part
of an agency that was.
Speaker 8 (40:31):
Killing my clients.
Speaker 16 (40:33):
And at that point I felt that I would make
more of an impact if I resigned and spoke out.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
Kel's last day was in April of twenty twenty two,
less than a year after she started. Robin quit a
few months later. As a transperson of color who connected
with the people they worked with, Robin's work was deeply personal,
and I was their resignation.
Speaker 4 (41:02):
It got to a point where it's like, Okay, if
I don't leave, I am going to commit suicide, like
I was at my breaking point. So I had to
make the decision to leave, and to be honest, I
still regret the decision because I feel like I abandoned
my community for doing so.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
The units still exists today, but as left with just
a single employee.
Speaker 4 (41:25):
One person is not enough. I don't think much change
can be done with just one person, and without the
support of staff, like especially from the commissioner, like other departments,
not much change is going to happen.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
The policies made in Leyleen's name have all played out differently.
The walking while Transer pill has successfully been enacted and
helped fuel a larger movement. Other policies have been harder
to enforce or have fallen apart, and that's hard to
sit with. I heard from organizers and from Leileen's family,
(42:02):
how frustrating it's been.
Speaker 3 (42:04):
I'm a huge opponent that every person is meant to
do their part to create something.
Speaker 2 (42:09):
In the world.
Speaker 1 (42:10):
Elliel, the organizer of Leileen's rally, who you've heard from earlier,
does this work day in and day out, year after year.
Speaker 3 (42:19):
It is about individuals figuring out what they're best suited for,
and movement.
Speaker 1 (42:25):
Work to sustain that without losing hope. It's important for
him to resist complacency and uphold his belief that collective
action can make a difference.
Speaker 3 (42:38):
I think that many of us have been complacent with
posting on social media and giving some money, and that's
not nearly enough in order to actually respond to the
level of attacks that trans people are facing in this
country right now. So finding different ways to plug in
because there's definitely people waiting for you to plug in.
Speaker 1 (42:59):
Eliel wants to show up for trans lives all the time,
not only in the wake of death.
Speaker 3 (43:05):
I continue to just think about ways to tell Leyleen Pulongfos.
Speaker 1 (43:09):
Story because it's people's lives that ultimately give this work
meaning and purpose.
Speaker 3 (43:17):
Often we end up minimizing individual's experiences around the police
or stayed to those couple of minutes or those couple
of days are we've detained, and it really minimizes.
Speaker 2 (43:28):
And ignores the breath of life the person that we lost.
Speaker 3 (43:32):
And I got to learn so much about Leileen, And
you know, I got to hear kind of a person
she was growing up, how she cares so much about animals,
how she started growing up in the ballroom, seeing she
liked to go out and dance. And I was like,
there's so much about leilein that I really love to
learn about.
Speaker 1 (43:47):
Elliell Like myself and so many others could see ourselves
in aspects of Leileen's life. And that's what makes her
story a rallying cry. It's how she lives on and
it's why we need to keep fighting.
Speaker 3 (44:04):
Organized organized grants when story radicalize me and help me
become a better organizer, and that a person I attribute
so much to pushing for justice.
Speaker 1 (44:15):
For the next week on Afterlives, we'll look to the future,
the future of Rikers, trans rites and Layleen's family.
Speaker 10 (44:29):
I still try to look for her and everything, and
I mean everything, even if it's an animal that comes
up to me.
Speaker 18 (44:35):
I'm like Leileen, I'm here to make what is really
a historic announcement, New York City will close the Rikers
Island jail facility.
Speaker 5 (44:48):
One of the strategies to try to attack.
Speaker 9 (44:52):
And ultimately eliminate trans people is to posit us as
an ideology, not as human beings.
Speaker 4 (45:00):
Of a future of trans people being safe.
Speaker 1 (45:07):
Thank you so much for listening to Afterlives. You can
find this episode and future ones on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please leave
us a rating and review to let us know what
you think. After Lives is a production of iHeart Podcasts
(45:27):
and The Outspoken Podcast Network in partnership with the School
of Humans. I'm your host and creator Raquel Willis. Dylan
Hoyer is our senior producer and scriptwriter. Our associate producer
is Joey pat Sound design and engineering by Daisy Makes
Radio Productions, with additional support from Jess Crinchitch, Story editing
(45:53):
by Aaron Edwards and Julia Furlan, fact checking by Savannah Hugiley.
Our show are is by Mackay Baldwin. Score composed by
Wisley Murray. Our production manager is Daisy Church. Special thanks
to L. E. L. Cruz for the recordings of the
Brooklyn Liberation March. Executive producers include me Raquel Willis, and
(46:19):
Jay Brunson from The Outspoken Podcast Network, Michael Alder June
and Noel Brown from iHeart Podcasts, Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr,
and Elsie Crowley from School of Humans and The Cats Company.
Speaker 12 (46:41):
School of Humans
Host
Raquel Willis
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