Manuel Luna is the second person in NYC Department of Correction (DOC) custody to die on Rikers Island in the new year. The 30-year-old was found unresponsive in his cell around 8:47 p.m. last Friday, Jan. 19 while held in the George R. Vierno Center jail. He entered DOC custody in October 2023.
“On behalf of the New York City Department of Correction, we extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the deceased,” said DOC Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie in a statement. “We are conducting a full investigation into this tragic event.”
Luna’s passing also marks the 30th known death in DOC custody since the Adams administration entered office. Earlier this month, Black New Yorker Chima Williams died on Rikers Island after collapsing while playing basketball. The two deaths this year are the first under Maginley-Liddie, who was appointed last month after former commissioner Louis Molina was named assistant deputy mayor for public safety.
“[Rikers Island] continues to kill our neighbors and leave more families devastated,” said Darren Mack, co-director of Freedom Agenda. “Instead of continuing to send people there, the Mayor needs to make the investments that will keep people safe: housing, mental health treatment, and other services to support people in our communities.”
Freedom Agenda, along with other advocates from the Campaign to Close Rikers movement organized a rally urging Mayor Eric Adams to prioritize “care not criminalization” outside of the State of the City address on Wednesday. Specifically, they spoke against his vetoes of criminal justice reform bills, including legislation banning solitary confinement in New York City jails.
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.