NEW YORK (AP) - The brother of Kalief Browder, who was jailed in Rikers Island for years and later killed himself after being released, is running for Mayor of New York.
Akeem Browder is running as a candidate for the Green Party, saying he believes incumbent Mayor Bill de Blasio doesn’t want to shut down the Rikers Island facility. Browder tells the Daily News (https://nydn.us/2sQfFbC ) that the Democratic mayor’s pledge to shut down the facility in ten years is “election-year pandering.”
Twenty-two-year-old Kalief Browder died by suicide in 2015 after being released from Rikers Island, where he was jailed for three years. He was charged with suspicion of stealing a backpack, but was never tried and charges were later dropped.
The 34-year-old Akeem Browder says his platform would also address homelessness and spending.
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Information from: Daily News, https://www.nydailynews.com
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