Overview
- The inmate, Clarence Woodward, was found unresponsive in his Rikers cell and later pronounced dead while awaiting trial for a 2024 laundromat killing.
- City corrections officials confirmed the death on Tuesday and said the Department of Correction and oversight partners will investigate; the cause of death has not been released.
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted that he was "deeply saddened" and vowed to press for better jail conditions and to close Rikers, a statement that drew intense criticism online and from the murder victim's family.
- Woodward had been charged with murder, manslaughter and assault in the Aug. 8, 2024 meat-cleaver killing of 45-year-old Jose Miranda and had a long arrest record with a recent parole release before the attack.
- Advocates and watchdogs point out multiple in-custody deaths at Rikers this year and say the case could increase pressure to improve medical care, boost transparency in the DOC probe, and accelerate plans to replace Rikers with borough-based jails.