Mary Yehudah Cause of Death, Obituary Not Yet Available- A spokesperson for the Department of Correction said another Rikers Island inmate died on Wednesday, just one day after the agency filed a plan to a federal judge with recommendations for improving conditions at the ailing jail complex.
According to pix11.com, Mary Yehudah, 31, is the seventh Rikers detainee to die in DOC care this year. According to the DOC, Yehudah was detained at the Rose M. Singer Center and died early Wednesday morning at Elmhurst Hospital.
Her death was under investigation, and the city medical examiner’s office was awaiting confirmation. The state Attorney General’s Office and the NYC Department of Investigation will investigate Yehuda’s death.
According to the Department of Corrections, Yehudah had been incarcerated at Rikers since February 12. She was charged with robbery in the first degree.
“We are saddened by Ms. Yehuda’s death; every life here is valued.” In a statement released Wednesday, DOC Commissioner Louis A. Molina said, “Our sympathies are with her family and loved ones.”
A federal judge is weighing whether the jail complex, which has been plagued by difficulties for years and caused dangerous circumstances for both inmates and staff, should be taken over by the government. Twenty New Yorkers have perished in the city’s jails in the last 18 months.
The Department of Corrections stated in a new action plan submitted on Tuesday that officers who are absent for more than two weeks will be evaluated. A federal judge is debating whether a federal court should be established. Additional plans for dealing with aggressive inmates will be developed by the department.
