Chima Williams, 43, died on Rikers Island on Jan. 4, confirmed the NYC Department of Correction (DOC) last week. The Black New Yorker entered custody at the end of 2023 and collapsed while playing basketball around 9:45 a.m. He was pronounced dead shortly after. He was held at the Eric M. Taylor Center.
An Office of the Medical Examiner spokesperson told the Amsterdam News the cause of death remains under investigation at press time.
“On behalf of the New York City Department of Correction, we extend our deepest condolences to Mr. Williams’s loved ones,” said DOC Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie in her email statement. “We are conducting a full investigation into this tragic event.”
Protesters staged a rally outside Foley Square prior to the NYC Board of Correction (BOC) monthly meeting last Wednesday, Jan. 10.
“Oftentimes, you will only hear the worst of the worst of the stories of who are those involved with the criminal legal system, never the stories of despair, never the stories of those whose lives [are] completely lost and how it led to be that way,” said Dr. Victoria Phillips of the Jails Action Coalition. “We always hear the names and the numbers, but never the true barbaric situations that create each death, each absence of a heartbeat, that DOC was [in] care, custody and control over.
“As we start out here, today is the first Board of Correction meeting for 2024. And yet, we have lost another life last week in DOC custody, Mr. Williams.”
Phillips, who led the action, told the Amsterdam News she is in contact with Williams family but an attempt for her to connect them to the paper was unsuccessful at press time.
Assemblymember Harvey Epstein questioned why the city’s carceral system wasn’t protecting the most vulnerable New Yorkers. Additionally, he pointed to the significant population of detainees who were not convicted of a crime and held on pretrial detention.
“We have an opportunity here to do the right thing for fellow New Yorkers who are struggling,” he said. “So the question we continue to have to ask is why we’re not doing it now. Why are we not treating our brothers and sisters who are behind the wall, like we treat the rest of our family? They are human beings, and they deserve care and respect.”
Last year, nine people died in DOC custody. All but one was held on Rikers Island. The BOC announced a report on the four most recent deaths in 2023 before next month’s meeting.
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.
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