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NEW YORK \u2014 The death of a 29-year-old man in New York City Department of Correction custody has prompted renewed calls for immediate government intervention, with the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice arguing the case underscores persistent failures at Rikers Island and marks the fifth death in DOC custody since Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office in 2026.<\/p>\n
Julian Pagan died after he was found unresponsive in a holding cell at a Bronx courthouse following his arraignment Friday, according to a recent Gothamist report. He was found shortly before 6 p.m. and was pronounced dead at Lincoln Hospital at 6:37 p.m.<\/p>\n
Pagan\u2019s attorney with the Legal Aid Society, Samantha Brugger, said she had been in court with her client hours before he died.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was alert, engaged and showed no signs that he was experiencing a medical emergency,\u201d Brugger said, according to Gothamist.<\/p>\n
After learning he would have to return to Rikers, Pagan spoke with his father.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis father told him to \u2018hang in there\u2019 and reminded him that he loved him,\u201d Brugger stated. \u201cThe prospect of returning to Rikers deeply distressed Mr. Pagan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Pagan\u2019s family deserves answers,\u201d Brugger added. \u201cNo family should be left to learn that a loved one entered the city\u2019s custody alive only to be told hours later that he had died.\u201d<\/p>\n
DOC Commissioner Stanley Richards also responded to the death.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are deeply saddened by this tragedy, and we share our condolences with Mr. Pagan\u2019s loved ones,\u201d Richards said, according to Gothamist. \u201cWe will investigate the circumstances of this death in coordination with city and state authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Katal Center argued Pagan\u2019s death reflects broader systemic problems within the city jail system.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re extremely concerned about the dangerous conditions within the NYC Department of Correction,\u201d said Yonah Zeitz, advocacy director for the Katal Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cConditions at Rikers in particular are so horrific that last year, a federal judge ordered a \u2018remediation manager\u2019 to take over parts of jail operations and oversight,\u201d Zeitz said. \u201cThis move is among the most dramatic a court can take and indicates the severity of the problem at Rikers. It also underscores the abject failure of city government to address the crisis and save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zeitz also criticized state oversight of correctional facilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew York State has an entire agency dedicated to oversight of jails and prisons in the state, to ensure they are \u2018safe, stable, and humane,\u2019\u201d Zeitz stated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat agency, the State Commission on Correction, has failed miserably to meet its mandate,\u201d he added. \u201cReforms were passed last year that should compel the agency to meet its mandate, but Governor Hochul continues to drag her feet to implement those reforms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zeitz said the latest death occurred despite recent reform efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, months after Mayor Mamdani has appointed a reform-oriented commissioner, months after the appointment by the federal court of a remediation manager, and months after the reforms to the SCOC were passed, yet another person has died in DOC custody,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are these officials doing? Whatever it is, it\u2019s not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKatal members, many of whom have served time at Rikers or had loved ones detained there, are clear: the city government, state government, and the federal court must take immediate, robust action to meet the legal mandate to shut down Rikers, and until it is shut down, to improve conditions and save lives,\u201d Zeitz stated. \u201cAnything less is unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mayor Mamdani also responded to Pagan\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery person in city custody deserves to be treated with dignity and care, and our administration remains committed to ensuring that happens,\u201d Mamdani said, according to Gothamist.<\/p>\n
The Katal Center\u2019s #ShutRikers campaign advocates reducing jail populations and correctional spending, closing Rikers Island and investing instead in what the organization describes as \u201creal community safety: housing, health care, including mental health, education, and jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
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