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NYC to Stop Reporting Prison Deaths as Federal Investigator Probes Recent Death at Rikers

HeadlineJun 02, 2023

A federal monitor is investigating the death of 31-year-old Joshua Valles and other “disturbing” events at the Rikers Island jail complex. An autopsy revealed that Valles died of a fractured skull, which appears inconsistent with prison reports. The monitor also accused the city jail of a lack of transparency. This comes as New York’s Department of Correction says it will stop notifying the press when someone dies in one of its facilities. The Legal Aid Society said, “This is another lowlight in the Department of Correction’s campaign to keep outside eyes away from the catastrophe that is the city’s jail system and the harm it inflicts daily on New Yorkers trapped inside its deadly walls.”

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