--- description: Kalief Browder was never found tried for his alleged crime. title: Man Jailed for 3 Years Without Trial Commits Suicide image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Man Jailed for 3 Years Without Trial Commits Suicide by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 9, 2015 2:10 AM CUT by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 9, 2015 2:10 AM CUT Kalief Browder was only 16 years old when he was [jailed in New York City](http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/kalief-browder-1993-2015 "undefined") following accusations that he stole a backpack. He denied the 2010 crime and was never put on trial for it, instead spending three years behind bars at Rikers Island—almost two of them in solitary confinement. According to a _New Yorker_ report on Sunday, a day earlier and about two years after his release, the 22-year-old committed suicide. Browder had been the subject of a [profile by the magazine](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/06/before-the-law "undefined") in October 2014, in which he told of being beaten by guards and fellow inmates. Security footage [released in April](http://time.com/3833422/rikers-island-video-surveillance/ "undefined") depicted such attacks, including an incident from September 2012 that showed a prison official shoving him to the ground on the way to a shower. He had previously attempted suicide, both while imprisoned and after leaving Rikers, and had spent time in psychiatric wards following his release. Last year, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio [banned solitary confinement](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/nyregion/mayor-bill-de-blasio-rikers-island-visit.html "undefined") for 16- and 17-year-olds. \[[_Read more at The New Yorker_](http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/kalief-browder-1993-2015 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3913686/kalief-browder-suicide/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3913686/kalief-browder-suicide/"},"headline":"Man Jailed for 3 Years Without Trial Commits Suicide","datePublished":"2015-06-09T02:10:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:01:46.277Z","description":"He was never tried for his alleged crime","url":"https://time.com/3913686/kalief-browder-suicide/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3913686/kalief-browder-suicide/","name":"Man Jailed for 3 Years Without Trial Commits Suicide"}}]}] ```