According to jailhouse sources who spoke exclusively to The Post, an inmate from Rikers Island was discovered dead in a shower early on Monday, making it the 12th death in detention for the Department of Correction this year.
Just before 6 a.m., sources and the FDNY reported that the unnamed inmate, a rape suspect in his late 60s, was discovered dead in a shower with a sheet around his neck, perhaps by suicide.
The FDNY acknowledged to The Post that it attempted to revive the detainee when he went into cardiac arrest while he was unconscious, but he was declared dead at the site.
He had only recently been admitted to Rikers, and the sources indicated that he was in the infamous Eric M. Taylor Center, which is where new admissions are housed.
The centre has been criticised for its filthy facilities and frightening staff shortages; one jailhouse source questioned if an officer had been on duty at the time of the most recent fatality.
The source questioned, “How long were they in the shower before they noticed?” Was there an officer stationed there?
According to data, it is the third apparent or confirmed suicide this year and the 12th death that occurred while the person was in prison, up 50% from the eight such deaths at this time last year.
