The Legal Aid Society is mourning the loss of William Brown, a client who died while in Department of Correction (DOC) custody on Rikers Island, as reported by The New York Times.

Mr. Brown is the sixteenth person to die in DOC custody this year. His death is indicative of the continued failure by the Department to keep New Yorkers safe and alive.  Without systemic changes that address the criminalization of poverty and the underfunding of mental health services, as well as a shift from the default reliance on law enforcement to respond to a myriad of societal issues, these tragedies will only continue.

Legal Aid called on incoming Mayor Eric Adams and State lawmakers to prioritize solutions that address the root cause of these issues, including investment in preventive resources.

“The carceral system is deadly, it’s violent, and we have a staff crisis,” said Tina Luongo, the attorney in charge of the Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense Practice. “If this is not a rude awakening that we need to take a different approach, then I don’t know what we are going to do as a city.”