Rikers Island Inmate Dies, Marking Facility’s First Death In 2023: DOC

QUEENS — A Rikers Island inmate died on Saturday, marking the troubled facility’s first death of the year, the Department of Correction said.

The inmate died at the North Infirmary Command about 6 a.m. on Feb. 4, according to the DOC.

“As with all deaths in custody, we are working with our partner agencies to conduct a full investigation,” Commissioner Louis A. Molina said in a statement.

The inmate’s death will be investigated by the State Attorney General’s Office and the NYC Department of Investigation, and his cause of death by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Rikers Island is marking its first death this year after a somber number of fatalities in the facility in 2022. Edgardo Mejias, 39, was the last person to die at Rikers Island last year, marking the jail’s 19th death.

Amid the stark conditions, lawmakers and advocates asked a judge to order a federal takeover of Rikers Island and appoint a receiver. The city avoided such a takeover after judge Laura Taylor Swain denied in November the request from lawyers representing detainees on Rikers Island.