STATEMENT ON RECENT RIKERS-RELATED DEATH

The Fortune Society was saddened and appalled to learn of the death this past Tuesday of yet another person held on Rikers Island, 52-year-old Rubu Zhao. Mr. Zhao sustained a fatal skull fracture in a mental health unit. Mr. Zhao is the second person to die while being held in our city jails this year, and the 21st person since the beginning of 2022, a year in which more people died after being held in our city jails than in almost a decade prior. Approximately 20% of the people held in our city jails have been diagnosed with a serious mental illness, and at this point, it is fair to say that their lives are at risk in DOC custody. Fortune urges DOC to fully cooperate with the Board of Corrections in the investigation of the circumstances surrounding Mr. Zhao’s death.