Rikers Island 2023 death count doubles to six in deadly July

The recent deaths of two Black New Yorkers held on Rikers Island push the notorious jail complex’s death count this year to six, double since July started. 

Curtis Davis, 44, was pronounced dead shortly after he was found unresponsive in his cell during the early morning this past Sunday, July 23. He entered NYC Department of Corrections (DOC) custody on June 1 and was held at the George R. Vierno Center (GRVC) jail. 

“It’s still an investigation—we know that,” said Mayor Eric Adams on Monday. “And we don’t know the cause of death. The [medical examiner] will make that determination. And every death should be taken seriously and every death is a tragedy.”

William Johnstone was similarly found unresponsive in his GRVC cell on July 15, the weekend before. The 47-year-old man was transported to Mount Sinai Queens, where he was pronounced dead two hours later. The DOC could not locate Johnstone’s next of kin at the time of the incident report.

July is the deadliest month so far in New York City jails this year, with four people dying in custody. Three were held on Rikers. The complex’s other three deaths took place over the first six months of 2023: 40-year-old Felix Taveras died on Rikers during the Fourth of July holiday from a medical condition,and several jail employees were reportedly suspended over “procedural violations” after the incident; Ricky Howell, 60, died in DOC custody but outside of Rikers. He was held in Manhattan’s Bellevue Prison Ward Hospital, diagnosed with terminal cancer before he was detained. 

Between the six Rikers deaths and that of Howell, seven people have died this year in or immediately after DOC custody. But there’s an asterisk next to the count from the NYC Comptroller’s Office, due to the department’s recent transparency rollbacks. City jail deaths are no longer proactively reported to the media. All this follows a deadly 2022, when 19 people died in or immediately after DOC custody. 

After Davis’s death, Adams pointed to mental health issues as a key factor for Rikers’ problems. But decarceration advocates squarely blame his administration and policies.

“The mayor knows that Curtis Davis, like thousands of other people at Rikers, was at great risk, harm, and death every day he was there, and Adams is telling New Yorkers he’s fine with that—but we’re not,” said Freedom Agenda co-director Darren Mack. “Twenty-six New Yorkers have lost their lives in NYC jails as a direct result of the mayor’s decisions to slash and starve essential services, while giving law enforcement a blank check.”

“These state-imposed deaths are policy choices, and this horrific crisis must stop now,” said #HALTsolitary Campaign co-director Victor Pate. “Electeds and officials must act immediately to release people, stop sending people to these deadly jails, end solitary confinement and other abuses, and shut down Rikers and this entire jailing system now.” 

Recommendations for federal receivership—which would take Rikers Island jails out of city hands—were renewed after U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams backed the measure last week. The federal prosecutor’s decision stems from a dissent decree in 2015’s Nunez litigation that required the DOC to address unsafe conditions through recommended reforms, which he found unsatisfactory. 

“Rikers Island has been in crisis for years,” said Williams. “This is a collective failure with deep roots, spanning multiple mayoral administrations and DOC commissioners. But after eight years of trying every tool in the toolkit, we cannot wait any longer for substantial progress to materialize. That is why my office will seek a court-appointed receiver to address the conditions on Rikers Island.”

To be clear, a federal receiver doesn’t mean the federal government will run Rikers, according to activist DeRay Mckesson, who advocated for one to the Amsterdam News last year. Instead, a neutral third-party fiduciary appointed by a judge would take over and oversee the jails. A monitor was similarly assigned from the 2015 case and currently audits Rikers Island, but lacks the authority to make executive decisions like a receiver.

Rikers Island is legally mandated to close by 2027, with four borough-based jails stepping in to house its remaining detainee population. But there are speed bumps, because the quartet of facilities can only house roughly 3,300 people combined—and 6,081 people were held in city jails at the start of the month. 
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and 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.