Christmas on Rikers Island's deadliest year
(Photo: Ashley Gilbertson/New York Magazine)
In January, The Blueprint reported on a hunger strike protesting human rights violations on Rikers Island and the ramifications those who were incarcerated were subjected to by jail personnel for standing up for their rights.
Now, as 2022 draws to a close, it turns out the incarcerated individuals at the jail had more than a good reason to protest after all. As of last month, 18 people had died while in custody on Rikers Island in 2022 alone, making it the deadliest year in the jail system’s history.
Located between the Bronx and Queens, Rikers Island has a reputation of being one of the most brutal correctional facilities in the United States.
Deaths on Rikers Island have nearly doubled compared to 2021. Ten people died that year, at least five of them by suicide.
The January hunger strike was shut down, a state lawyer told The Blueprint, "due to retaliation from corrections staff."
You might be asking at this point: How could jail personnel shut down a hunger strike? It turns out, in a traumatic and inhumane manner.
The strike, which included roughly 200 people incarcerated in the Robert N. Davoren Complex (RDNC) on Rikers Island, began on Jan. 8.
But after ten days, jail staff intervened by isolating those leading the demonstration. Attorney Lupe Todd-Medina told The Blueprint co-organizer Ervin Bowins was moved to the Vernon C. Bain Center, a jail barge known as "the boat" on the island prison complex, as punishment for leading the strike. Bowins was also having his medication withheld from him, Todd-Medina said.
Among the conditions hunger strikers were protesting were freezing temperatures inside the facility, the withholding of mail, no visits from family members due to COVID-19, recurring hearing cancellations, and being denied video conferences with their lawyers.
At least one lawyer representing multiple clients on Rikers Island, Christopher Boyle, had his phone number blocked by jail officials during the hunger strike, preventing news of police retaliation against the strikers from getting out to the public.
The 18 people who lost their lives on Rikers Island in 2022
In the hours leading up to the Feb. 27 death of 38-year-old Tarz Youngblood, guards failed to make their rounds.
Less than three weeks later, on Mar. 17, 48-year-old George Pagan became sick and died of what officials concluded as sepsis. The fact that he "regularly urinated, defecated, and vomited on himself," according to the Board of Correction, didn’t seem too concerning for jail personnel, who failed to bring Pagan to at least nine scheduled doctor’s appointments. They also didn’t give Pagan his prescription medication, something incarcerated individuals have no control over.
The next day, on Mar. 18, 52-year-old Herman Diaz choked on an orange and died, the Board of Correction says. Other incarcerated people tried to save Diaz by giving him the Heimlich manoeuvre and calling for help, but the only officer on duty (the state mandates a minimum of two officers at all times) did not render first aid. Instead, Diaz’s other incarcerated peers carried him to the jail’s health clinic, where he was pronounced dead.
The next death occurred on May 7, when officials say 25-year-old Dashawn Carter died by suicide after just two days in custody.
On May 18, 31-year-old Mary Yehudah passed away in the hospital after being found unresponsive in her cell. Her family said in a lawsuit that Yehudah was a diabetic and suffered cardiac arrests due to not receiving treatment for her disease.
The next death, on May 28, claimed the youngest person of the year at Rikers. While his cause of death has yet to be determined, 20-year-old Emanuel Sullivan was found dead in his cell.
The next three deaths would occur over the course of four days in June.
The death of 28-year-old Antonio Bradley isn’t counted toward the city’s official tally of in-custody death totals for the year. The technicality stems from the fact that Bradley died in the hospital after receiving a compassionate release. However, his June 18 death followed a suicide attempt three days earlier while in custody.
Then, on June 20, 39-year-old Anibal Carrasquillo died in custody at Rikers after complaining about chest pain but being refused medical treatment.
On June 21, 52-year-old Albert Drye died in one of the island’s hospital wards while recovering from an illness. His cause of death is still under investigation.
While the 10th person to lose their life on Rikers this year has been determined to be a suspected overdose, a correctional officer was fired in relation to the death. Thirty-eight-year-old Elijah Muhammad was held for more than a day in solitary confinement in what’s known as a caged shower, dying on July 10.
On July 15, another suspected drug overdose occurred when 34-year-old Michael Lopez died after his legal aid attorney said he was deprived of mental health resources, resulting in his death.
One month later, on Aug. 15, 68-year-old Ricardo Cruciani died by suicide while under custody on Rikers Island. Cruiciani, a former doctor, was awaiting sentencing after being convicted of sexually assaulting his patients.
On Aug. 30, 40-year-old Michael Nieves was pronounced dead at Elmhurst Hospital. Nieves, who suffered from severe mental illness, died by suicide. Three jail officials were suspended for their role in his death.
The next death, which occurred on Sept. 14, was among the most preventable. After being held for less than one week, 35-year-old Kevin Bryan died by suicide. He was held on $5,000 bail after being charged with burglary. Had Bryan been granted bail, his death may not have happened.
On Sept. 20, 48-year-old Gregory Acevedo died at the Mount Sinai Hospital after jumping into the East River after being held on "the boat." He was rescued but succumbed to his injuries later that day.
The day before, 59-year-old Elmore Robert Pondexter was transported to Bellevue Hospital after collapsing in the jail’s housing area. He was granted compassionate release just hours before dying on Sept. 23.
On Oct. 22, 28-year-old Erick Tavira died by apparent suicide while being held in a mental health observation unit. The Board of Correction concluded officers failed to check on Tavira, who had spent 15 months awaiting trial behind bars, as often as required while under medical supervision.
The 18th death, which occurred on Oct. 31, is still under investigation. On the third anniversary of being arrested, 26-year-old Gilberto Garcia was found dead in the jail’s housing area.
As we approach 2023, the fourth year since Rikers Island was set to be permanently closed, the need to prevent deaths behind bars is more important than ever.