The U.S. Justice Department is considering taking control of the New York City jail complex at Rikers Island. The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, has told a federal judge that he was alarmed by the “extraordinary level of violence and disorder at the jails.” In January, prisoners at Rikers staged a hunger strike to protest deplorable conditions inside, citing the rapid spread of COVID, inadequate heating and a growing level of violence. Sixteen people died at the jail last year.