Prisoners at Rikers Island are 'still shackled to desks in classrooms'

Prisoners at Rikers Island are still being shackled and handcuffed to metal restraint desks when they are in classrooms at the facility despite a New York correction commissioner promising to remove them last year.

Correction Commissioner Louis Molina told the city Board of Correction at a meeting last week that the desks are a 'critical tool in managing a challenging population prone to acts of serious violence.'

His comments were opposite from last July when he told WNYC in July: 'We're removing the restraint desks that were part of our restrictive housing system.'

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