U.S. to sue New York for rampant civil rights violations at Rikers Island

The Justice Department on Thursday indicated it would file suit against the state of New York over the egregious treatment of adolescent prisoners at Rikers Island jails, according to The New York Times.

In August, a report from Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, concluded that a "deep-seated culture of violence" against inmates at Rikers resulted in a "staggering" number of injuries, though corrections officers were rarely punished for abuses of power. The lawsuit argues those abuses constituted civil rights violations, and it seeks court-mandated changes.

Though the DOJ gave the state several months to independently address the issue, Bharara said in filing suit that "insufficient progress has been made."

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