Black Transgender Woman Layleen Polanco Dies in Solitary Confinement at Rikers

A transgender woman’s death at a New York City jail has sparked outrage and a demand for answers. Layleen Polanco was being held in the Restrictive Housing Unit at the Rose M. Singer Center on Rikers Island when she was found unresponsive in her cell on June 7. An officer was touring a housing area at the detention center around 2:51 p.m. when they foun…