People's World

"The latest was Edgardo Mejias, 39, who died in late December. “He had been arrested under suspicion of shoplifting perfume,” the institute said. It called New York City’s jails “abominable.” “Edgardo Mejias was delivered a death sentence without a trial,”  Freedom Agenda Co-Director Darren Mack told the Vera researchers."

Queens Daily Eagle

"Anna Pastoressa, a member of Freedom Agenda and the mother of an incarcerated person, spoke out against the mail and package policy during the rally in Manhattan on Tuesday... “By blocking packages, you’re blocking laundry, you’re blocking hygiene, you’re blocking dignity," Pastoressa said."

Office of the NYC Comptroller

"This mail variance is just a band-aid, instead of addressing the real issues. People inside are not getting proper care, and they’re not getting programs, so they are desperate for something to fill their time. DOC needs to address that issue, not put one more barrier between incarcerated people and their loved ones,” said Marco Barrios, a member of Freedom Agenda and Criminal Justice Advocate with the Mental Health Project Urban Justice Center."

Queens Daily Eagle

“Martin Pines was killed by a criminal legal system that has no regard for human life – from police, to courts, to DOC,” said Darren Mack, the co-executive director of Freedom Agenda.

Yahoo! News

“They need treatment, not jail,” Darren Mack, co-director of Freedom Agenda, one of the key organizations leading the campaign to close Rikers, said. “As long as Rikers remains open, more people are going to die.”

NY Daily News

"“At 65, [Marvin Pines] was sent to a penal colony that is utterly failing to provide medical care or safety for anyone,” Darren Mack, co-director of the Freedom Agenda."

AM NY

"But former Rikers inmate Darren Mack of the Freedom Agenda, a nonprofit working to have the jail shut down on or before its scheduled closure in 2026, charged that “Pines was killed by a criminal legal system that has no regard for human life – from police, to courts, to DOC.”"

News 12

""The mayor knows what Rikers Island is about. He knows the culture of violence, he knows how it is, but they continue to look for ways to send people there. Close it, close it down. Shut it down today. There's no fixing it, there's no reforming it. It just needs to be shut down," said Edwin Santana, of Freedom Agenda."

City Limits

“Rikers Island is not a necessary institution. There are plans and legislation underway that will remove our neighbors and fellow New Yorkers off of Rikers and into a smaller system borough-based facilities. This would bring families closer to their loved ones, improve conditions for people detained, and end our over-reliance on incarceration.” - Hope Sanders, a member-organizer of Freedom Agenda.

NY Daily News

"'I think it’s an effort to control the narrative. They are closing ranks and being less transparent than in the past,” said Darren Mack of advocacy group Freedom Agenda..."