FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, August 31, 2025
Contact: Yonah Zeitz: yonah@katalcenter.org • 347-201-2769
Follow on socials @KatalCenter • #ShutRikers #CutShutInvestNY
Second Death at Rikers in a Week, At Least the 11th Death in DOC Custody this Year
Under Mayor Adams, at Least 44 People Have Died in NYC Jails; Key Oversight Legislation Awaits Gov. Hochul’s Signature
New York, NY: On Saturday evening, news broke that Jimmy Avila died while being incarcerated at the West Facility on Rikers Island. This is the eleventh person to die in DOC custody this year. At least 44 people have died since Eric Adams became mayor in 2022.
Statement from Yonah Zeitz, the Advocacy Director at the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice:
“How awful. Another week, another death at Rikers. We offer our condolences to the family of Mr. Avila.
Under Mayor Adams, at least 44 people have died in NYC jails. And it’s getting worse. The conditions at Rikers are so bad that the federal court is going to intervene, as it should, but that process is not moving fast enough to save lives. The state legislature passed a bill to overall the State Commission on Correction– a watchdog agency with oversight powers over prisons and local jails, including Rikers. The only thing holding up this needed reform is Governor Kathy Hochul. Lives literally hang in the balance. She must sign the omnibus prison oversight bill into law. Now.”
Background: On June 12, the New York Legislature passed an omnibus corrections oversight bill, S.8415 (Salazar)/A.8871 (Dilan), that includes overhauling the government watchdog—the State Commission of Correction—with authority over local jails and state prisons, including Rikers Island. The bill is currently awaiting Governor Kathy Hochul’s signature.
#ShutRikers is a campaign of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice. Katal members, supporters, and our allies are working to cut the correctional populations and the budgets used for caging people; shut down Rikers Island; and invest in real public safety: housing, health care, education, and jobs.
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