At a time when the nation is facing a mass incarceration crisis with more than 2 million people incarcerated and incarcerated, the personal story of a Bronx man is revealing. how broken the criminal justice system truly is. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get the original essay The devastating story of Kalief Browder is one that has touched many people and shed light on brutality and injustice In 2010, at the age of sixteen, Kalief Browder was apprehended by police on suspicion of stealing a stolen backpack. His family was unable to post the $3,000 bail to get him out, leading Browder to spend three years behind bars, including two years in solitary confinement. Throughout his long-awaited stay, Browder endured beatings, starvation, and torture without ever being convicted of a crime. Browder wasn't sent to just any prison. He was sent to the Riker's Island prison complex. To some, this information may seem unimportant, however, this prison played a large role in the unfortunate disappearance of this young man. The Rikers Island prison complex is considered one of the most violent prisons in the country. Since May 2015, "the Rikers Island prison complex has failed to meet minimum security standards and has become so unsafe that it can no longer be allowed to accept inmate transfers from outside the city of New York” (Gonnerman, 2016). Browder was sent to a place he shouldn't have been in the first place. One could only imagine what Browder must have experienced in that horrible prison. He endured beatings, starvation and torture without ever being convicted of a crime. On his first day there, he was beaten repeatedly by police officers, many of which were captured on surveillance video. “He was eventually released after the case was dismissed” (Moseley, 2017). During his time in prison, Browder spent approximately two years in solitary confinement, where he attempted to end his life several times. “Once, in February 2012, he tore his sheet into strips, tied them together to create a noose, and tried to hang himself from the light fixture in his cell” (Gonnerman, 2016). In November 2013, Browder was released from Rikers and unfortunately attempted suicide again. “As a result, he was sent to the psychiatric ward of St. Barnabas Hospital, not far from his home in the Bronx” (Gonnerman, 2016). A few weeks before his death, Kalief Browder was thriving at Bronx Community College. The 22-year-old had enrolled in university courses after being imprisoned. “While at school, Browder, who had suffered from depression since his imprisonment, wrote an essay titled “A Closer Look at Solitary Confinement in the United States,” in which he explored the mental effects of solitary confinement on prisoners. His teacher gave him an A” (Time, 2017). Everything seemed fine on the surface, but you never know what someone is going through inside. Then later that year, he stopped taking classes at Bronx Community College. During Christmas week, he was committed to the psychiatric ward of Harlem Hospital. Sadly, in June 2015, Browder hanged himself with an air conditioning cord after suffering depression and several flashbacks of his imprisonment. “His last words were ‘mama, I can’t take it anymore’ to his mother” (Moseley, 2017). Browder's death had a big impact on his mother. Unfortunately, more than a year after his son.