Kalief Browder- A Life Lost Too Soon

Imagine being 16-years old leaving a neighborhood party with your friends late at night. It was a typical night out and now you’re walking home ready to get in bed. You hear the police sirens behind you but you’re used to them because of the neighborhood you're from but you don’t expect an officer to get out of their car to actually speak to you. By the end of the night you’re being questioned about the theft of a backpack which contained goods worth over $700. Even though you’re told you will probably be able to go home, you are taken to Rikers Island where you will stay for the next 3 years. 

That is the story Kalief Browder. He was just 16-years old when he was arrested in 2010, sent to Rikers Island and was not released until 2013. While in prison, Browder was subject to violent beatings from inmates and guards, torture and torment and spent over 400 days in solitary confinement. 

Browder’s journey is captured in the Netflix documentary Time: The Kalief Browder Story. Sadly, he is not the first person to have suffered this fate. Historically, the judicial and prison system has falsely accused many men and women and sent them to sit in prisons for years before even getting a trial date. When charged with a crime, the constitution states that EVERYONE has the right to a speedy trial. Browder was NEVER given a speedy trial. He wasn’t even given a trial or a trial date. So he sat.... And he was beaten... And he was jumped... And he was tortuted.... And he was starved... And months after being released he committed suicide.

You may ask “why didn’t he just take a plea deal?” He was definitely offered a plea deal but when asked why he decided not to take one he responded, “why would I plead guilty for something I didn’t do.” He didn’t want to end up like his older brother who took a plea deal for a crime he didn’t commit and is now a felon unable to get most jobs and live like a normal citizen. Browder did not want the same fate. He decided to stand up for himself against a system that was meant to destroy him. Remember, Browder was only 16-19 years old during this time.

Like most inmates that are released, Browder had a difficult time transitioning back into society. Because he spent an insane amount of time in solitary confinement, also known “The Bing” because after a certain amount of time being in total isolation your brain goes “bing”, he developed mental disorders including depression. He had hallucinations and was paranoid fearing that he was always being watched and followed by police officers so he lived in a high state of anxiety. Some people in the neighborhood weren’t too happy to see him back. There was one incident where he was attacked and slashed with a knife leaving him with multiple wounds.

Although Browder was experiencing rough situations, he kept his ambition and enrolled in G.E.D. Prep classes and later community college. While in college, he was finally able to meet with a counselor and get proper help and diagnosis, something he begged for while in prison after trying to take his life multiple times.He wanted to turn his life around and to also get justice for himself and others for what he went through so his lawyers filed a civil suit against the city of New York. His story began circulating around the media and he appeared on many talk shows including The View with Rosie O’Donnell and he even had the chance to meet Jay Z, who became a large supporter and advocate of Browder. With all the support and love in the world Browder still felt alone. And why shouldn’t he? No one around him had gone through what he’d gone through. No one around him suffered with the mental illnesses he developed while in prison. No one around him except his older brother knew what it felt like to be falsely accused of a crime you didn’t commit.

Eventually, Browder’s life came to an end too soon. His mother recalled the last thing he said to her being “Ma, I just can’t take it anymore.” And that’s truly how he felt....

Browder’s mother died months after he passed due to heart complications that began when he was first arrested..

This didn’t have to happen. Two lives were lost and many others were drastically changed forever. Yes, laws were changed in the city of New York stating that there will no longer be excessive trial delays which is what happened in Browder’s case that prevented him from immediately leaving prison. But there are so many layers to the judicial and prison system that are set up to trap and torture men and women of color. One of the first ways to help change the system is by educating oirselves. Watching this documentary opened my eyes to the extremely terrible conditions many people are going through. It’s not ok to sit back in our comfy houses and churches and ignore the plight of others. We have to get out and involved in the community and fight harder to impact lives and create change.

I urge everyone to watch the documentary series on Netflix. If you have, let me know what you think.

Thank you.