Following a rise in violent crime of over 400% nationwide, the government made a highly controversial decision. In the year 2017, the island of Manhattan was converted into a maximum-security prison for violent criminals who had been dealt life sentences. The year of its founding, 100,000 prisoners were sent to the island; now, in 2025, the population is believed to have more than tripled with new arrivals shipping in regularly. Manhattan is surrounded by a 50-foot containment wall, and no outside authority exists within the walls.