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A fire set by an inmate at New York City’s notorious Rikers Island jail has left 20 people injured on the same day a group of state Democratic lawmakers visited the complex to show opposition to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed changes to bail laws.
The blaze, which erupted around 1:20 p.m. Thursday in the North Infirmary Command area, left 15 Rikers staff members and five inmates hurt, officials said.
"The health and safety of those who work and live in our facilities is our main priority," James Boyd, the New York City Department of Corrections’ deputy commissioner for public information, said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. "We take arson very seriously, and will pursue re-arrest of the individual involved pending the outcome of the investigation."
The five inmates and 10 of the 15 staff members were taken to local hospitals "due to smoke inhalation and to receive a medical evaluation," the Department of Corrections also said.
HOCHUL PROPOSES FURTHER OVERHAUL TO NEW YORK’S CONTROVERSIAL BAIL REFORM LAWS
The entrance to Rikers Island, home to the main jail complex, is shown from the Queens borough in New York City in October 2021. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has introduced a proposal to yet again revise the state’s controversial bail reform laws, which is drawing opposition from state Democrats.
The plan marks the third time changes would be made to the state’s bail reform laws, which eliminated cash bail and mandated release for most misdemeanor and nonviolent offenses since its introduction in 2019 under Hochul’s predecessor, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
As part of the Democrat’s $227 billion total budget proposal for the 2024 fiscal year, Hochul aims to restore "judicial discretion in securing order determinations by removing the least restrictive means standard."
Participants seen holding a banner at the protest. Members of the activist group Rise and Resist gathered at the weekly Close Rikers Vigil event held at the Shuttle concourse in the Times Square Subway Station, April 3, 2023. (Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Hochul has said judges have given feedback expressing a lack of clarity on the laws.
Her latest proposal would allow judges to consider a defendant’s "activities and history," past criminal convictions, past use or possession of a firearm and financial circumstances, as well as whether the charges include allegations of causing serious harm, when setting bail, the New York Daily News has reported.
Republicans and New York City Mayor Eric Adams maintain bail reform is contributing to offenders being repeatedly arrested and released while awaiting trial until their offenses often become more dangerous.
The Rikers Island jail complex stands in New York with the Manhattan skyline in the background. A fire there injured 20 on Thursday. ((AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File))
But the lawmakers Thursday noted a rise in deaths at Rikers Island and warned of dire results if the bail reforms are rolled back and more inmates are sent to Rikers and other jails.
"We will have blood on our hands if we allow there to be these changes implemented in our New York state budget," Assembly member Zohran Mamdani said.
The lawmakers did not visit the building where the fire happened and appeared to have left Rikers Island before it unfolded, according to the AP.
Assembly Member Latrice Walker, who was the lead sponsor of the 2019 bail reform legislation and went on a 19-day hunger strike in opposition to proposed changes to it last year, said Thursday she is launching another hunger strike on Easter Sunday.
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed changes to the state's bail laws. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
"What Gov. Hochul is proposing goes beyond rollbacks," the Brooklyn Democrat said in a statement. "She wants a wholesale dismantling of bail reform without a legal or empirical basis. So, I have to do what I have to do to keep New York State from filling jails with Black and brown people.
"My hunger strike is intended to demonstrate the suffering of the thousands of people from my community who are stuck behind bars without access to care, exercise, quality food or meaningful justice."
Fox News’ Danielle Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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