Isaabdul Karim, a 42 year old man incarcerated on Rikers Island, died on Sunday evening, the tenth fatality that the Department of Correction admits took place in its custody this year.
According to corrections authorities, Karim wasn’t feeling well and was taken to a clinic where medical staff attempted to perform CPR. He was pronounced dead around 7:25 pm.
“Providing for the safety of incarcerated people is our core mission, and I am heartbroken that we have seen yet another death of a human being entrusted to our care,” said Department of Correction Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi. “The causes of this death so far appear to be natural, but that doesn't change the fact that we have serious issues in our jails.”
Karim was in Department of Correction custody for little more than a month, held for a parole violation on Rikers Island. According to the Legal Aid Society, he contracted COVID-19 while stuck in intake for ten days, where he did not receive proper medical care. His parole violation, the public defenders’ organization said, was a non-criminal technical one, stemming from marijuana use and failure to make an office report.
“We are heartbroken and outraged to learn that Isaabdul Karim, a father of two young children, passed away last night at Rikers Island,” said Tina Luongo, an attorney with The Legal Aid Society. “He should have been in the community with his family, friends and network, not in a jail plagued by an ongoing humanitarian crisis.”
His death comes as the jails contend with a spike in recent incidents of self harm, a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, a string of deaths, and rising concerns over unsanitary conditions.
Earlier this month, twenty-four year old detainee Esias Johnson died of an apparent drug overdose at another Rikers’ facility. In two separate incidents in August, Segundo Guallpa, 58, and Brandon Rodriguez, 25, were found dead in their cells in apparent suicides.
“No person should ever have to die in jail or prison. It is outrageous that another person has just died while in the custody of [the] NYC Department of Correction this year,” said State Senator Julia Salazar. “The death of each of the individuals who have died in custody this year is the most severe indication of the crisis in our city’s jails on Rikers Island. Mayor de Blasio, the Department of Corrections, District Attorneys and our state government must take further action to release people, mitigate this crisis and save lives.”
On Friday, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Less is More Act, legislation that will limit the number of people held for technical parole violation, a measure that won’t go into effect until March 2021. She also announced she was directing the state parole board to release 191 Rikers detainees, and transfer around 200 others to state facilities to relieve concerns of overcrowding.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has declined to use his authority to grant work release to dozens of detainees serving misdemeanors, but has promised other reforms, such as emergency contracting for cleaning facilities and building more medical clinics on Rikers Island.
This story has been updated to reflect new information showing Isaabdul Karim contracted Covid-19. According to The Legal Aid Society, the Department of Correction mistakenly named him as Karim Isaabdul.
