Rampage in New York

This is Mayor Lindsay speaking to the men on the Tombs' eleventh floor. I will meet personally with your representatives immediately upon the release by you, unharmed, of all of the hostages.

In that dramatic radio appeal last week, New York City's John Lindsay dickered for the lives of 17 hostages seized by incensed prisoners at the infamous Tombs, known officially as the Manhattan House of Detention for Men. Two and a half hours later, the hostages walked out unharmed and Lindsay walked in to fulfill his part of the bargain. For three hours he listened to a litany of old but urgent complaints: high bail, long delays before trial, and inhuman living conditions in New York's jails.

The worst jail crisis in the city's history began at lunchtime four days earlier at the 95-year-old Branch Queens House of Detention for Men. Inmates snatched keys from unarmed guards and made a frantic dash through the halls, unlocking cells all the way. The rioters turned on faucets to flood several floors, set fire to furniture and bedding, heaved debris and an eight-foot wooden bench out of broken cell windows. In a new political twist, they also hung the flag of the black liberation movement from a top-floor window. Over the next three days, more riots flared at other city jails, including the Tombs. In all, more than 2,500 inmates joined the rampage and seized 32 hostages--all for the sake of airing their grievances.

Recipe for Anarchy. The trouble was that not much had changed since a similar outbreak at the Tombs last August. Prisoners were still crammed into jails operating at 183% above capacity. Charges of guard brutality, racism and bad food persisted. Worst of all, the vast majority were subject to such conditions without ever being convicted of a crime.

The real villain is New York City's appallingly inefficient court system. In California, the law requires a trial within 60 days after arrest. In New York, defendants awaiting trial may languish in jail for months because the courts are so congested and the law sets no time limit. The congestion is partly due to aggressive defense attorneys, armed with recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions expanding the rights of defendants, who slow the process with pretrial motions on behalf of their clients. Still, there is no excuse for cases like that of one inmate: charged with murder, he has been in jail for three years--still unconvicted. As for bail, many criminal defendants are either jobless or skirting the edges of poverty. At their income level, $500 bail might just as well be $500,000.

Last week every public official seemed to have a pat answer, notably more money for bigger and better jails. But in New York City the first priority should be a speedy court system, with more judges, trained administrators and computerized calendar control. Beyond that, New York is only the latest flash point of a nationwide revolt against "correction" systems that are basically relics of 18th century penology. Without reforms, the U.S. will increasingly confront anarchy inside the prison walls--and outside on the streets.

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