When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.

Laura Taylor Swain, a federal judge, seized control of New York City’s lockups, which have been rife with violence and dysfunction.

A federal judge on Tuesday said she is taking control of New York's troubled Rikers Island jail complex away from city officials and appointing an independent official to oversee it, citing a decade of worsening violent and dangerous conditions inside the facility.