ARCHIVE

This broadcast focuses on the death of 30-year-old Samuel Harrell while in state custody, in April 2015. Farrell was killed while housed at the Fishkill Correctional Facility in Beacon, Dutchess Co. He was brutally beaten to death by 20 correctional officers that made up the facility's "beat up" squad. This broadcast features a conversation with Erik Jensen, one of Harrell's closest friends and a formerly incarcerated person who was subjected to abuse at the hands of guards. Plus, Cerissa Harrell, Samuel's sister and outspoken critic of the state Department of Corrections and its role in her brother's death, as well as the violent abuse of inmates throughout the system. Also excerpts from an event on the issue of violence and brutality in state prisons convened by Beacon Prison Action in February 2016. Produced by Alexandra Cox.