NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A 27-year-old man died in custody at Rikers Island Thursday morning, the Deparment of Correction announced, marking the 9th death of a detainee at the facility so far this year.
"A person in custody was found unresponsive this morning and pronounced dead at approximately 6:20 a.m," the DOC told 1010 WINS in a statement. "The medical examiner will determine the cause of death."
While the department said the man's identity was being withheld pending notification to next of kin, the Legal Aid Society, of which the man was a client, identified him as Manesh Kunwar.
Kunwar was arrested in Queens on Sept. 27 for robbery, two counts of bail jumping and grand larceny.
“We are devastated and outraged by the news of the passing of yet another Legal Aid client at Rikers Island," the social justice law firm said in a statement. "Manesh Kunwar was incarcerated at the Eric M. Taylor Center for only seven days before he died at the young age of 27. We extend our sincere condolences to Mr. Kunwar’s family, friends, and community at this extremely difficult time."
The statement continued, “Mr. Kunwar’s case yet again highlights the harm of incarceration in lieu of treatment. If our client had access to the services he needed and stable housing, today’s tragedy could have been avoided."
The fiery statement concluded, “DOC’s continuous failure to ensure the well-being of those New Yorkers in its custody and inability to administer basic jail functions is unacceptable. We call for immediate answers from DOC and for a full and transparent investigation into the circumstances that led to Mr. Kunwar’s tragic death.”
There were 19 deaths in city jails in 2022 and 16 in 2021.