A group of protesters rallied in Brooklyn Saturday to call for the closure of the notorious prison, Rikers Island.

The protesters who gathered at Grand Army Plaza argue that the facility is inhumane in its treatment, and say the condition of people with mental issues who are kept there only worsens. They say solitary confinement and sexual assault are rampant at the prison.

Demonstrators chanted and called Rikers Island a failure of the criminal justice system that targets people of color, the impoverished and those with mental illnesses.

Protester Akeem Browder's younger brother killed himself after three years at Rikers. He says he doesn't want it to happen to anyone else.