Search
Close this search box.

19th Death on Rikers This Year

Share This Post

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, December 12, 2022

Contact:  Yonah Zeitz, yonah@katalcenter.org | (347) 201-2769

Follow on Twitter @KatalCenter | #CutShutInvestNY

The Crisis on Rikers Continues– Another Person Dies at Notorious Jail Complex, the 19th This Year and the Most Since 2013

Community Groups Demand Mayor Adams Cut the Number of People Detained at Rikers and Shut Down the Jail Now 

New York, NY:  Last night, the news broke that yet another incarcerated person died at the Rikers Island Jail Complex. This is the 19th death of an incarcerated person on Rikers this year and the most since 2013 when the jail population was double the size. 

Statement from Avion Gordon, Member of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice:  

“I am deeply upset to hear that yet another person has passed away last night at Rikers. This year alone, 19 human beings have died in city jails. We have far surpassed the deaths from last year. This is shameful. I feel for the families that have lost a loved one behind bars. I express my sincerest condolences to all of them. You have a community behind you that cares and supports you.  I am appalled that we have a Mayor that can’t even recognize that he is hurting families by keeping Rikers open. The Mayor is not prioritizing the lives of all New Yorkers. What else needs to happen to get the Mayor to understand that sending New Yorks to Rikers is a death sentence? Instead of working to decarcerate and bring people back home to be with their loved ones for the holidays, he has continued to attack proven reforms like bail to drive up the city’s jail population. Our communities need help in the form of housing, jobs, and access to mental health. The solution to these problems will never be putting people behind bars. Mayor Adams you need to shut down Rikers, families across the city shouldn’t be spending the holidays grieving the death of a loved one because you refuse to do what’s right.”

###






More To Explore