Eleventh inmate this year dies at NYC's infamous Rikers Island jail amid horrific conditions and staff shortages
A wheelchair-bound Rikers Island prisoner has died inside the notorious lockup Sunday, marking the 11th fatality at the facility this year.
Isaabdul Karim, 42, died of apparent 'natural causes' while in jail on a parole violation, officials said.
It comes as politicians call for the closure of the understaffed prison, which has been dubbed a 'horror house of abuse and neglect'.
Karim, who died Sunday about 7:35 p.m., was in a wheelchair and contracted COVID-19 after being jailed August 18, his legal team said.
Although no foul play is suspected, the case renewed calls for better treatment of the incarcerated.
‘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,’ New York Corrections Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi said in a statement.
‘The cause of death so far appears to be natural, but there is nothing natural about what is happening in our jail system right now.’
Karim, 42, was the 11th prisoner to die this year while locked up at the notorious Rikers Island
Ten inmates have died at the jail already this year, and at least half are believed to have taken their own lives, according to NBC News.
The Legal Aid Society, which represented Karim, said the latest casualty was jailed on a parole violation for smoking marijuana and failing to make an office report.
Tina Luongo, who leads the society’s criminal defense practice, said she was ‘heartbroken and outraged’ by the news.
‘Mr. Karim suffered from a host of medical issues for which he required a wheelchair,’ she said in a press release. ‘Adding to this, Mr. Karim contracted COVID-19 while mired in intake for ten days, and he was denied access to his medications and critical medical care.
‘He should have been in the community with his family, friends and network, not in a jail plagued by an ongoing humanitarian crisis. Technical violations… should not amount to a death sentence, and New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) Commissioner Anthony Annucci has much to answer for.’
Legal advocates said Karim was jailed on a technical parole violation, and caught COVID there
Violence runs rampant in the Otis Bantum Correctional Center, which is one of the facilities located on Rikers Island in NYC's East River.
On August 30, a Rikers Island correction officer was left with a fractured skull after being viciously beaten by an inmate - who later said 'voices' in his head told him to carry out the attack.
A criminal complaint filed alleged that the inmate knocked the officer to the ground while pummeling him with his fists before stomping on his head and stealing the guard's pepper spray, according to The New York Post.
Violence is a frequent occurrence at the correctional facility, which some advocates want shut
A day earlier, a series of videos from Rikers Island captured violent scenes of inmates attacking prison guards - including one incident where one officer could not stand up after being brutally kicked and stomped on.
In July, a Rikers Island jail captain was making his nightly rounds when an inmate with a history of attacks and escape attempts hurled his feces at him.
Captain Nauvella Lacroix, who's spent nearly nine years with the Department of Corrections in New York City, was struck in the face and torso area, leaving his uniform covered in human waste.
A photo shows him standing at a jail facility with his shirt smothered in human waste.
Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered the release of 191 Rikers inmates after signing the Less is More Act
Politicians are pushing for change.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul last Friday signed into law the Less is More Act, which helps eliminate the jailing of those who’ve violated parole rules.
She ordered the immediate release of 191 Rikers Island inmates in jail for technical violations, and the transfer of another 200 prisoners.
A corrections officer was brutally attacked by an inmate at Rikers Island on August 30. The officer fractured his skull and received 20 stitches (pictured)
New York Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, part of a delegation , said she was appalled by the treatment of inmates.
'What I witnessed was a humanitarian crisis,' Gallagher tweeted. 'A horror house of abuse and neglect. I'll share more soon but for now my message is simple: decarcerate.'
Other politicians spoke of the facility being severely understaffed, with some guards having to work double or triple shifts.
The New York City Department of Correction last Wednesday handed out suspensions to 20 officers for failing to show up to work amid an ongoing crisis at the notorious jail.
The crackdown took place just one day after Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a warning that any DOC staff member who was AWOL 'will be held accountable with 30-day suspension without pay.'
During his daily press conference on Tuesday, the mayor unveiled a five-point plan to address the dire situation at Rikers Island, which has long suffered from being critically overcrowded and understaffed.
The NYC Department of Correction on Wednesday handed out 30-day suspensions without pay to 20 officers who failed to show up to work for no apparent reason
Under the mayor's Emergency Rikers Relief Plan, any DOC officer who calls out sick for more than a day will have to undergo a medical evaluation and provide a doctor's note, or face a 30-day suspension.
DOC Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi said last week that more than 1,400 officers out of a staff of 8,500 were out sick on average in August, which is more than double compared to the same time last year, reported New York Daily News.
About 93 officers skipped work a day in August 2021, compared to 29 the year before.
A plan was approved in 2019 to shutter Rikers and replace it with several smaller jails, but it won't happen until 2026.
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