Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYC Pays $5.6 Million To Settle Death Of Mentally Ill Rikers Inmate
By
Scott Heins
Published Sep 28, 2016
Modified Sep 28, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Scott Heins
Published Sep 28, 2016
Modified Sep 28, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The family of a Rikers Island inmate who died after being locked in a cell for six days without access to running water or medication has won a $5.75 million settlement in a lawsuit against New York City. It is the largest settlement in NYC history for a death in custody.
Bradley Ballard, 39, was found unresponsive on September 13, 2013, naked, covered in his own excrement and with a rubber band tied tightly around his penis. It was later revealed that Ballard was denied medication for diabetes and schizophrenia while he was confined to the cell, and the Times reports he had also been without running water. After removing him from his cell, Rikers staff attempted to revive Ballard and treat his severely infected genitals at Elmhurst hospital, but he died hours later. A medical examiner later ruled Ballard's death a homicide.
Jonathan Abady, an attorney representing Ballard's family, called his death "a total system failure, an astonishing display of inhuman treatment and misconduct that involved culpability at virtually every level."
Ballard had been initially locked up for violating his parole and failing to report an address change in June 2013. His family's lawsuit argued that he was admitted to the Bellevue Hospital Center psychiatric ward the following month, where he remained for 38 days until being transferred back to Rikers. On September 4th, 2013, he was put into solitary confinement for making lewd gestures at a female guard.
"Had Ballard received adequate and appropriate medical and mental health care and supervision and intervention when he became critically ill, his death would have been prevented," the State Commission of Correction concluded, according to the Times. The same Commission found that the treatment administered to Ballard by both the New York City Correction Department and paid contractor Corizon Health was "so incompetent and inadequate as to shock the conscience."
Nicholas Paolucci, a spokesman for the city's Law Department, admitted that Ballard's death was a "tragic case" and called the $5.7 million payout "fair and in the best interests of the city."
As of 2014, roughly 40% of Rikers Island's 12,000 inmates are mentally ill, and the administration of solitary confinement is four times the national average. Ballard's death brought demands for specific criminal prosecution against both Corizon and Rikers staff, as well as sweeping change in how law enforcement deals with the mentally ill.
"People who are responsive for upholding the law should also follow the law," Jails Action Coalition activist Johnny Perez told Gothamist in June 2014 as he protested Ballard's homicide outside the Bronx DA office.
Tagged
Bradley Ballard
inmate death
rikers
Rikers Island
Scott Heins
Scott Heins is a freelance photo and video journalist based in New York City, and a frequent contributor to Gothamist + WNYC. His work often centers around labor rights, housing, and policing. In 2018-2019 he traveled to four states while covering a wave of public school teachers strikes, with work featured in The New York Times, The Intercept, Getty Images, Splinter, and Bloomberg Photos. Scott is a dues-paying member of the National Writers Union's Freelance Solidarity Project.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
A reliably Republican part of NJ, until ICE came to town
The Trump administration’s plan to convert a warehouse in Roxbury into an ICE detention center has upended local politics ahead of the midterm elections.
By
Mike Hayes
Published Oct 20, 2026 at 6:30 a.m. ET
NYC school integration debate exposes tensions between Black parents and Mamdani
Some see a blind spot when it comes to the representation of Black New Yorkers in Mamdani's administration and agenda.
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
NYC school integration debate exposes tensions between Black parents and Mamdani
Some see a blind spot when it comes to the representation of Black New Yorkers in Mamdani's administration and agenda.
By
Elizabeth Kim
Queens man charged with hate crime at Jewish-owned bagel shop displaying Israeli flags
By
Giulia Heyward
MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says
By
Stephen Nessen
High-ranking NYC officials to testify in ex-buildings boss Eric Ulrich's corruption trial
By
David Brand
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .