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Another Man Found Dead On Rikers After A Month In DOC Custody
By
George Joseph
Published Sep 7, 2021
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By
George Joseph
Published Sep 7, 2021
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A man died on Tuesday morning in Rikers Island, the ninth such fatality in Department of Correction custody this year. A correction officer found twenty-four year old Esias Johnson unresponsive while conducting a tour at the Anna M. Kross Center, and alerted medical staff, according to the Department of Correction. Authorities pronounced Johnson dead at around 9:45 am.
Johnson entered Department of Correction custody just a month before his death, held for menacing and fugitive arrest warrant charges.
“The circumstances surrounding this death will receive a full investigation,” said DOC Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi in a statement. “We have been in touch with Esias Johnson’s next of kin, and extend our deepest condolences.”
The news comes as the city jails struggle with a rising tide of self-harm incidents, which have included several suicides.
In January, 30-year-old Wilson Diaz-Guzman hung himself in his cell at Rikers. In March, 30-old Javier Velasco was found unresponsive inside another Rikers cell with a bed-sheet wrapped around his neck. Last month, 25-year-old Brandon Rodriguez was found dead in his cell with a t-shirt wrapped around his neck. And just last week, Segundo Guallpa, 58, was found dead in a cell at Rikers, in what authorities believe to be a suicide.
In a statement, Tiffany Cabán, a Democrat running for city council in Queens, demanded Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York City prosecutors do more to empty the jails.
“Our City and State’s violent and racist carceral system is killing folks, and the power holders who refuse to lift a finger to protect them,” she said.
Caban pointed out that the mayor could grant work releases to people serving short sentences in city jails. The Mayor’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Manhattan Councilman Keith Powers responded to Johnson’s death by publicly calling for an emergency meeting with correctional authorities to “create an immediate plan of action.”
“We can’t do this alone,” Powers said. “The Governor and Mayor must take immediate steps to address this crisis.
George Joseph is a reporter with the WNYC/Gothamist Race & Justice Unit. You can send him tips on Facebook, Twitter @georgejoseph94, Instagram @georgejoseph81, and at [email protected]. His phone and encrypted Signal app number is 929-486-4865.
Tagged
rikers death
Rikers Island
Race And Justice Unit
department of correction
George Joseph
George covers Brooklyn for THE CITY with a focus on criminal justice and housing. He previously worked for WNYC and Gothamist, and has published stories with NPR, ProPublica, Esquire, and The Intercept among other outlets.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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