This article is co-published with The Appeal.
In February, a violent fight broke out in the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), a federal jail in Brooklyn. It left people like Sean Chaney, who was released in January after spending 15 months in MDC, scrambling to learn the status of his friend and former cellmate, who was stabbed 18 times and hospitalized. At least nine other people sustained stab wounds.
“This is the type of stuff that goes on in MDC, because of the just inhumane conditions,” Chaney said. “This happens often. Whether it’s a riot, or it’s a few guys who just go at it with each other—there’s always going to be some type violence, because of the conditions going on in MDC, and the lack of concern for human life.”…