THE FORTUNE SOCIETY STATEMENT ON THE THIRTEENTH PERSON TO DIE AFTER BEING HELD ON RIKERS ISLAND

(August 31, 2022) The Fortune Society issued the following statement today after the most recent death of a person in the care of the New York City Department of Correction. 

“Today, we are confronted with tragically familiar news: forty-year-old Michael Nieves has died because New York City Department of Corrections staff on Rikers Island failed to take action that could have saved his life.  Mr. Nieves was held in a specialized unit for people with mental health issues that is supposed to be staffed by specially-trained officers.  Yet officers stood by and did nothing for a reported period of at least ten minutes as Mr. Nieves bled from a self-inflicted wound.  He is the thirteenth person to have died after being held on Rikers this year.  The Fortune Society calls on the City administration to take immediate action to ensure that no further lives are lost due to unstaffed posts, inadequately trained staff, or staff indifference to the care of people in custody.”