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Dear New Yorkers,
It’s been a week of truly horrific news out of Riker’s Island.
First, we learned that Department of Correction (DOC) officials failed to report the deaths of Rubu Zhao and Joshua Valles.
Then today, in a huge obstruction of transparency, we learned that the DOC abruptly stopped notifying the media when an incarcerated person dies — and will no longer do so in the future.
I want to be absolutely clear: The lives of people awaiting trial on Rikers are not disposable. Their deaths cannot be swept under the rug.
Apparently, DOC leadership doesn’t care about the humanity of the people in its custody enough to even report honestly when they die. In fact, jail officials reportedly also sought to prevent the release of a federal monitor’s report that noted with alarm that “serious and disturbing incidents involving harm to incarcerated persons” on Rikers.
Since the Department of Correction is no longer providing this critical information to the public, my office has updated the Comptroller’s Department of Correction Dashboard to say deaths in custody are “unknown.” ([link removed])
[link removed]
This dashboard — updated once a month — monitors pervasive issues in the City’s jails, including staff absenteeism, missed medical appointments, and incidents of violence among detained people and staff. It also tracks the jail population every month and length of stay.
We publish data to this dashboard to provide increased transparency and accountability over the City’s jail system. Unfortunately, critical information will now be missing.
View DOC Dashboard ([link removed])
Now, more than ever, the appointment of a federal receiver to operate Rikers is a moral and operational necessity to confront the jail system’s utter disregard for accountability. In the meantime, we’ll keep pushing for transparency and justice.
In solidarity,
Brad
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