Man held on Rikers Island dies in Queens hospital; fifth prison death in 2024

A man being held at a city jail on Rikers Island died early Tuesday at Mount Sinai Hospital Queens after being taken there with medical problems, the Department of Corrections confirmed.

Paramedics took the man to hospital from the North Infirmary Command at 5.22am. He died there at 6.19am.

The man's name was not immediately released by authorities because the family has not yet been notified. The man's death is currently under investigation.

The ministry notified a number of regulatory agencies, including the federal overseer, the state attorney general's office, the state commission on penitentiaries, the ministry of investigation and the penitentiary council.

NEWIt was unclear why the man was taken to Mount Sinai Queens on Tuesday morning and not to Elmhurst Hospital or Bellevue Hospital, which, unlike Mount Sinai, have specially equipped prison wards.

DOC and FDNY officials did not immediately respond to a question about the decision to transport him to Mount Sinai.HERE

This is the fifth inmate death in 2024. On July 14, 23-year-old Charizma Jones, who was incarcerated at the Rose M. Singer Center, died at the New York Presbyterian Burn Center in Manhattan, possibly from an illness she contracted in prison.

NEWBefore Jones' death, Roy Savage, a 51-year-old federal prisoner awaiting retrial at Rikers, died of cancer in Bellevue on March 22. Manuel Luna, 30, died on January 19 after being found unconscious in his cell.

Chima Williams, 43, suffered a heart attack and collapsed while playing basketball at Rikers Prison on Jan. 4. He was given the anti-overdose drug Narcan and CPR but died.HERE

There were nine deaths in prisons in 2023, 19 in 2022 and 16 in 2021.

Originally published: August 20, 2024 at 10:53 am