After NYC Department of Correction (DOC) confirmed on Saturday, June 21, that two additional people have died on or in transit to Rikers Island on June 20, advocates for those incarcerated at the jail are asking the mayor to take immediate action to address overcrowding, particularly ahead of the imminent heatwave.

 

According to DOC, on June 20 at around 2:59 p.m., an officer observed Benjamin Kelly, 37, in medical distress at the Eric M. Taylor Center on Rikers Island while conducting a tour, medical aid was provided until around 3:31 p.m. when officials said Kelly was pronounced deceased.

 

Additionally, according to DOC, James Maldanado, 56, suffered a medical emergency at around 4:30 p.m. also on June 20 while on a bus en route to Rikers Island. They said he had not yet been admitted and was coming into custody for the first time after being discharged from a hospital before a court appearance.

 

They said medical assistance was provided in the sallyport of the Eric M. Taylor Center, and that at around 4:49 p.m., Maldanado was pronounced deceased.

 

DOC officials said the department notified the federal monitor, the Board of Correction, the State Attorney General’s office, NYC Department of Investigation, the State Commission of Correction, the district attorneys, and the individuals’ attorneys.

 

Reacting to the news, NYC Correction Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddle said, “The life of every single person in our care is valued and Friday was profoundly tragic for the department as two individuals lost their lives. Our deepest sympathies are with their loved ones. These incidents will be investigated thoroughly.”

 

Also reacting to the news was Freedom Agenda, an advocacy group for incarcerated people. A spokesperson said Kelly and Maldanado became the sixth and seventh people to die “in DOC custody” this year. They said forty people have now died in custody since NYC Mayor Eric Adams took office. They added that the jail population has swelled to over 7,500 people.

 

Rikers Island is set to close in he coming years and to be replaced by the opening of new borough-based jails. The Bronx County jail is due to open on the grounds of the former Lincoln Hospital and NYPD tow compound at 745 E 141st Street [320 Concord Avenue] in the South Bronx. For more on this, click here.

 

As reported, over 215 advocacy groups recently demanded the reversal of the HALT law suspension pertaining to the segregation of incarcerated individuals from State prisons’ general populations.

 

Separately, as also reported, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) officials, and others recently announced the removal of the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center barge from the Hunts Point waterfront, which is due to be converted into a new marine terminal. Advocates for the closure of the barge had compared it to a slave ship.

 

Freedom Agenda co-director Darren Mack said, “These tragic deaths are as predictable as they were preventable. Rikers Island is a death camp, but Eric Adams has spent three years doing everything in his power to fill it up. With a deadly heat wave coming, and most housing units already crammed to capacity, the situation is about to get even worse. The administration needs to take urgent action, in the same way they did in March 2020, to divert people from Rikers, before more lives are lost.”