One of the longest serving inmates on Rikers Island is finally a free man — acquitted of murder charges and living with his mother in Boston — but still faces time in the slammer.
“It feels unreal but I made it through,” James Seabrook, 29, told The Post from his mother’s home after serving seven years in the notorious jail.
“It was tough watching people get stabbed and beaten up for no reason,” said Seabrook, who was released on Dec. 13. “You gotta be strong in there.”
The jail is meant to house inmates for short-term stays while they await court dates, or for up to a year’s sentence on criminal charges, but Seabrook has been behind its bars since 2016 on charges connected to a fatal shooting in NYC, court records show.
“For two years straight, I only got three hours of sleep at night,” he said. “I wake up and I got four dudes near me. Just waking up and you’re like, ‘Ah man, it’s another day in jail.’”
Seabrook was arrested and charged in the fatal shooting of Steven Vasquez in April 2016 at the Wagner Houses in Harlem.
Cops found a .45 caliber firearm at the scene.
The then-22-year-old, who had a prior weapons charge, first went to a jury trial in 2019 and was convicted of unlawful possession of ammunition and trespassing.
The jury deadlocked on murder and weapons charges.
The case was then delayed several times because of COVID-19 and at his attorney’s request, but in November he was acquitted on the most serious charges, officials said.
It’s difficult for him to grasp that he’s probably going to state prison next. He’s facing sentencing on the misdemeanor charges at a Jan. 31 court date.
“Do you know how many people I seen get stabbed?” said Seabrook, who steadfastly maintains his innocence. “Three phones for 42 people in one house. All the fights were for the phone or to show off for a female officer.”
He said it was difficult to only have very little time outside so he took up gardening and found programs inside to keep him busy.
“I was doing horticulture for two years straight,” he said. “I was doing barista class. I was with the Fortune Society. I did all those programs. I kept focused.”
Seabrook also performed jail jobs like working in the mess hall and overnight sanitation.
He witnessed all of the jail’s ills, including rampant drug use.
“Just imagine seeing person get chopped up,” he said. “I seen people get cut bad.”
“You got people on fentanyl all day, leaning,” he said, referencing the bent over posture that users of the drug often take.
One time, he said, he was sprayed with chemicals while correction officers put everyone in intake to search their living area.
“I was handcuffed for 10 hours,” he said. “I thought I was going to die. They flipped the house upside down. They sprayed us with bear chemicals.”
Seabrook, who’s part of a lawsuit against Rikers over illegal strip searches, isn’t certain what will happen next but says he’s thankful he’s at least been home with his family for the holidays.
“I prayed to get back to my family,” he said, as he spent time with his mom and 91-year-old grandmother. “My moms was always there for me.”