After engaging in leisurely activities at a house party in the Bronx, one moment turned then-16-year-old Kalief Browder’s cheerful aura into a three-year gloom.
On his way home from that party, NYPD officers apprehended Browder thinking that he was a suspect for allegedly stealing someone’s backpack. After an interrogation where Browder pleaded his innocence, the justice system still sent him to Rikers Island where he awaited trial.
Unfortunately, the case never made it to the courtroom, and he spent more than 1,000 days in jail, 800 of which were spent in solitary confinement. Three years later, Browder was released in 2013 from Rikers after the charges were dropped, but took his life in 2015. Before his passing, Browder’s story was featured on the
New Yorker, which helped to catalyze Spike TV’s forthcoming docuseries that will show footage of his life during and after Rikers.
The six-part program, which is set to air in January 2017, will be produced by Jay Z. During a press conference in New York City on Thursday (Oct. 6), Harvey Weinstein, whose film/TV company recently teamed up with the Brooklynite, shared that they’ve already filmed four episodes of the program.
“Jay brought this project to us. As a team, we brought this to Spike,” Weinstein said.
