Press Releases


Press Releases: City Controller Rhynhart Releases Statement on Deaths at Philadelphia Prison Facilities

For immediate release: Friday, July 30, 2021

Contact: Jolene Nieves Byzon, 215-300-1071

Philadelphia, PA – City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart released the following statement regarding recent deaths at Philadelphia Prisons facilities. The statement is as follows:

“Just over a month ago, I shared serious concerns about conditions and staffing levels at Philadelphia Prison facilities and called on the Kenney Administration to hire at least 300 correctional officers this fiscal year. After personally seeing the conditions, I urged the Kenney administration to adopt an all-hands-on-deck approach to addressing the issues at Philadelphia Prisons to ensure the safety of both staff and inmates. This makes the recent news of two inmate deaths all the more heartbreaking. A month later, this is still not being addressed with the urgency required, and what’s worse, the Kenney Administration has the audacity to say that staffing is adequate with only 23 additional hires. I cannot stand by and allow them to minimize the seriousness of this situation and continue putting the lives of inmates and staff at risk. The City must own this problem and do more to support our correctional officers and provide humane living conditions for our inmates. I am committed to pushing this issue until the Kenney Administration hires the staff needed to prevent more of these horrific incidents from happening.”

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