At a time when the nation faces a mass incarceration crisis with more than 2 million people in jails and prisons, personal story from a Bronx man is revealing just how broken the criminal justice system truly is. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The devastating story of Kalief Browder is one that has affected many and brought to light police brutality and injustice. In 2010, at the age of sixteen, Kalief Browder was arrested by police who suspected him of stealing a stolen backpack. His family was unable to post the $3,000.00 bail to get him out, which led to Browder spending three years behind bars, two of them in solitary confinement. During his long-overdue stay, Browder endured beatings, starvation and torture, all 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 major role in the unfortunate demise of this young man. The Rikers Island prison complex is considered one of the most violent prisons in the country. As of May 2015, “the Rikers Island prison complex has failed to meet minimum security standards and has become so dangerous that it can no longer be permitted to accept inmate transfers from outside New York City” (Gonnerman, 2016). Browder was sent to a place he shouldn't have been in the first place. One can only imagine what Browder must have experienced in that terrible prison. He endured beatings, starvation and torture without ever being convicted of a crime. On his first day there, he was repeatedly beaten by officers, many of whom were captured on surveillance video. “He was eventually released after the case was dropped” (Moseley, 2017). While in prison, Browders endured approximately two years in solitary confinement, where he attempted to end his life several times. “Once, in February 2012, he tore the sheet into strips, tied them together to create a noose, and tried to hang himself from the lamp in his cell” (Gonnerman, 2016). In November of 2013, Browder was released from Rikers and unfortunately attempted suicide again. “This led him to the psychiatric ward at St. Barnabas Hospital, not far from his home in the Bronx” (Gonnerman, 2016). 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 in 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 solitary confinement had on inmates. His professor gave him an A” (Time, 2017). Everything seemed fine on the surface, but you never know what a person is going through inside. Then, later that year, he stopped attending classes at Bronx Community College. During Christmas week, he was confined in the psychiatric ward of Harlem Hospital. Unfortunately, in June 2015, Browder hanged himself with an air conditioning cord after suffering from depression and several flashbacks to his captivity. “His last words were “but I can't take it anymore” to his mother” (Moseley, 2017). Browder's death had a big impact on his mother. Sadly, more than a year after her son hanged himself, the New York Daily News reported that his mother, “Venida Browder, died of.