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Rikers detainee dies, sixth death in NYC correction custody this year
By
Bahar Ostadan
Published Jul 16, 2023
Modified Jul 16, 2023
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Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
By
Bahar Ostadan
Published Jul 16, 2023
Modified Jul 16, 2023
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A detainee at Rikers Island awaiting a court hearing died on Saturday – making him the sixth incarcerated person whose death was linked to the city Department of Correction this year.
William Johnstone, 47, was found unresponsive in his cell at roughly 1:50 p.m., according to Correction spokesperson Frank Dwyer. He received immediate medical care and was transported to Mount Sinai Queens hospital, Dwyer wrote in a statement.
Johnstone, whose death was first reported by the Daily News, had been jailed at Rikers since March 24. “At this time, no next of kin has been identified,” Dwyer wrote on Saturday night.
City records show Johnstone was held on bail of $39,998 cash, or $148,998 bond. He was jailed on robbery and weapons possession charges, stemming from two incidents in Brooklyn and Manhattan, court records show. His next court date was scheduled for August.
Johnstone was found in the George R. Vierno Center at Rikers, where inmate Rubu Zhao, 52, also died in May after falling from a second-floor tier.
A historic high of 19 people died in DOC custody last year, bringing the total number of deaths to 25 people since the start of 2022.
The federal monitor overseeing city jails recommended earlier this month that a judge hold Mayor Eric Adams’ administration in contempt for failing to make Rikers safer. U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain said last month she would consider a federal takeover of city jails.
"We cannot allow the suffering and death to continue, and we demand DOC be held accountable," Brooklyn Defender Services and New York County Defender Services wrote in a joint statement on Sunday. "Before another life is lost, every judge, every prosecutor, every elected official must take decisive action to reduce the jail population on Rikers Island.”
The number of deaths in city jails do not include people who died while in NYPD custody. Haleem Johnson, 38, was found unconscious and unresponsive while jailed at the Midtown South precinct in April. Gothamist previously reported that officers ignored him for several hours as he yelled about chest pains.
The city medical examiner determined earlier this month that Johnson’s death was natural, due to “chronic alcohol use.”
The Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation is conducting a “preliminary assessment,” which is required by law if a police officer may have caused someone’s death “by an act or by omission.”
Tagged
crime
Rikers Island
new york city
Bahar Ostadan
Bahar Ostadan covers the NYPD and public safety. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or message Bahar on Signal at 646-740-7335.
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