45 Facts About Kalief Browder

Kalief Browder was an African American youth from The Bronx, New York, who was held at the Rikers Island jail complex, without trial, between 2010 and 2013 for allegedly stealing a backpack containing valuables.

Two years after his release, Kalief Browder hanged himself at his parents' home.

Kalief Browder's case has been cited by activists campaigning for reform of the New York City criminal justice system and has attracted widespread attention in the years following his death.

At birth, Kalief Browder was placed into the care of Child Protective Services due to his mother's drug addiction.

Kalief Browder was the youngest of seven biological siblings and one of the five placed for adoption.

Kalief Browder attended the New Day Academy in the Bronx, whose staff described him as very smart and a "fun guy".

Kalief Browder pleaded guilty, but later said he was only a bystander.

Kalief Browder was registered as a youthful offender and placed on probation.

Kalief Browder thought the police were carrying out a routine stop-and-frisk, a police procedure he had undergone on a number of occasions.

Kalief Browder said the theft had occurred two weeks earlier.

Seventeen hours after the arrest, Kalief Browder was interrogated by a police officer and a prosecutor.

Kalief Browder was taken to jail at Rikers Island to await trial and the resolution of his pending probation violation.

Kalief Browder said inmates washed their own clothes with soap and a metal bucket, causing rust stains on the clothes.

Kalief Browder's mother began visiting him weekly and provided him with clean clothes and snack money.

Kalief Browder said he felt pressure to gain physical strength to defend himself.

Kalief Browder said, "Their noses were leaking, their faces were bloody, their eyes were swollen".

Later in the day, Kalief Browder punched the gang leader and was set upon by fifteen gang members.

Altogether, Kalief Browder spent nearly two years in solitary confinement, mostly after fights with inmates.

Kalief Browder later said that while in solitary confinement, correction officers beat him when he was showering.

Kalief Browder said a verbal confrontation with a guard would escalate into a physical altercation.

Kalief Browder studied for the General Educational Development examination.

In July 2010, seventy-four days after his arrest, Kalief Browder was brought before a judge at Bronx County Hall of Justice.

Kalief Browder pleaded "not guilty"; his family went to a local bail bondsman about the new charge, but the posting of bail was denied because of Kalief Browder's prior violation of his probation.

On January 28,2011,258 days after his arrest, Kalief Browder appeared in court.

O'Meara said Kalief Browder was "quiet, respectful, he wasn't rude", but he appeared "tougher and bigger" over time.

Kalief Browder told O'Meara that he wanted to go to trial; he was offered a plea bargain of 3.5 years in prison if he pleaded guilty.

In June 2012, this period was reduced to 2.5 years, but Kalief Browder again declined the plea bargain.

On June 29,2012, Kalief Browder's record showed, "the People not ready, request one week".

Kalief Browder later opined, "these guys are just playing with my case".

On March 13,2013, Kalief Browder appeared before Bronx judge Patricia DiMango.

Kalief Browder offered Browder a plea bargain of immediate release for his admission of guilt to two misdemeanors with consideration of time already served.

Kalief Browder walked out of Rikers the following day, and the charges were formally dropped a week later.

In November 2013, Kalief Browder filed a lawsuit against the New York City Police Department, the Bronx District Attorney, and the Department of Corrections.

Kalief Browder participated in the City University of New York's "Future Now" program, which offered a college education to previously incarcerated youths.

Kalief Browder completed 11 credits and finished his semester with a grade point average of 3.56.

On May 11,2015, Kalief Browder submitted a paper titled "A Closer Look at Solitary Confinement in the United States", for which he received an "A" grade.

Kalief Browder worked for a while as a security guard but was dismissed when his history of mental illness came to light.

Kalief Browder tried a second time on February 8,2012, trying to hang himself using strips of sheet tied to a ceiling light in the cell.

Kalief Browder later said the COs goaded him to commit suicide.

In November 2013, Kalief Browder made another suicide attempt and was admitted to the psychiatric ward of St Barnabas Hospital, the first of three admissions to the ward.

Kalief Browder was interred in an unidentified Bronx cemetery following a funeral service at Unity Funeral Chapels on June 16,2015.

Nobody from the Bronx DA's office was held personally accountable for keeping Kalief Browder incarcerated for three years without a trial or a conviction.

Kalief Browder completed a successful semester at Bronx Community College.

Kalief Browder said his appearance on the show was a "good opportunity to get [his] voice heard" and that it was difficult to speak about his experience in prison.

Kalief Browder's story was detailed in an episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver from 2022.