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Joshua Valles Is the Third Rikers Island Detainee to Die in 2023

HeadlineMay 31, 2023

In New York, a detainee at Rikers Island died last week after becoming sick. Thirty-one-year-old Joshua Valles was being held at the psychiatric unit and was transferred to a hospital after complaining of a headache and vomiting. He died a week later. Joshua Valles is the third death at Rikers this year. 2022 was the deadliest year at the jail complex in almost a decade. A recent report by a federal monitor warned prisoners at Rikers are at “imminent risk” of harm, and renewed calls for a federal takeover of New York City jails.

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