Rikers Sees Deaths Mount After Judge Gives NYC Last Chance On Jail

NEW YORK CITY — Three people died after staying in New York City's jails in the week after a judge approved a last-ditch plan by city officials to avoid a federal takeover of Rikers Island, according to advocates and reports.

Advocates blasted Mayor Eric Adams and jail officials this week as the deaths unfolded on a near-daily basis.

All told, nine people have died in city custody this year, according to officials and reports.

Adams, for his part, used a visit to Rikers Island on Wednesday to tout that more than 2,700 weapons have been seized from the jail's inmates in recent months. He then issued a statement afterward with a three-word acknowledgment: "Much work remains."

Attorneys with The Legal Aid Society were blunt in their response.

“That the Mayor visited Rikers Island and did not take responsibility for the deaths of nine people who have died in City custody this year, including the two New Yorkers since Sunday, is both irresponsible and callous," attorneys said in a statement.

The deaths all occurred after federal Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed off on a city-drafted "Final Action Plan" that promised to reduce violence, deal with staffing shortages and address other problems plaguing the jail.

Swain's approval forestalled the very real chance of a federal takeover of Rikers, but also set a November court date to see if city officials achieve the "meaningful reform set forth in the action plan."

The court date is widely seen as a deadline for city officials to show they can manage the jail's problems.

But advocates — who were already unhappy with what they viewed as the plan's vague promises — have seen the recent deaths as emblematic of deadly dysfunction at the jail.

Two men — Anibal Carraquillo and Albert Drye — died on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, according to a New York Times report and Legal Aid attorneys.

A third person, Antonio Bradley, died June 18 about a week after trying to hang himself in a Bronx court holding cell. But, as the New York Daily News first reported, jail officials didn't count his death as one in custody because he was granted compassionate release while on his deathbed.

Even before the deaths, advocates urged Swain to reconsider.

“As advocates including Legal Aid Society have argued, the only real step forward is to install a federal receiver - and put responsibility in the hands of someone who can cut through red tape, make systemic reforms, and keep New Yorkers safe in custody," said Campaign Zero Founder DeRay McKesson in a statement.

Legal Aid attorneys after the deaths accused Adams and top jail officials of being "in denial."

"While Mayor Adams makes these press announcements, people held inside the jails are unsupervised as staff continue to stay home from work with impunity and basic jail services remain in limbo," their statement reads. "The extraordinarily high death rate on Mayor Adams’ watch, and the suffering of all who are kept in abysmal conditions inside, are a humanitarian crisis that this Administration seems incapable of rectifying any time soon."