A second inmate at New York City's Rikers Island jail complex has died this week, city officials said.
The unidentified inmate "died in a clinic area" at the Eric M. Taylor Center on Friday, the city Department of Correction said in a news release.
The cause of the inmate's death, who had been in custody since Feb. 27, is under investigation. His identity was withheld pending family notification, the release said.
“Every person matters and every death is tragic. We are particularly mindful of this today after suffering another terrible loss yesterday," Correction Commissioner Louis Molina said.
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One day earlier, the DOC said George Pagan, 49, died at Elmhurst Hospital around 8:30 a.m. He had been transferred to the hospital from the Eric M. Taylor Center.
A release from the DOC on Thursday did not specify why Pagan had been transferred. He had been in custody since March 9.
Pagan's cause of death was also under investigation. The DOC has reported three deaths at Rikers Island so far this year.
News
Sixteen New York City jail inmates died last year, the most since 2013, as severe staffing shortages plunged the already troubled jail system into crisis.
