Rikers detainee becomes third to die in less than a month

Ariel Quidone became the third Rikers Island detainee to die within the past month over the weekend.  AP file photo by Seth Wenig

By Jacob Kaye

A 20-year-old being held on Rikers Island died over the weekend, marking the third detainee death seen at the troubled jail complex in less than a month.

Ariel Quidone, who had been on Rikers for a little more than a week before he died, was rushed off the island last week after experiencing a medical emergency, according to the Department of Correction. When his condition worsened at Elmhurst Hospital, Quidone was allegedly released from DOC custody. He reportedly died on Sunday.

Quidone’s death was first reported by the Daily News.

“A person in our custody experienced a medical emergency on March 13 and aid was quickly provided until he could be transported to Elmhurst Hospital,” a spokesperson for the Department of Correction said in a statement to the Eagle. “We cannot comment on someone’s medical status once they are no longer in DOC’s custody. Our concern for the wellbeing of people in our care is primary.”

Quidone was first brought to Rikers on March 7. The 20-year-old had been arrested on a robbery charge in February and released on bail before being arrested again on March 6, when he was charged in a second robbery.

According to a GoFundMe organized to raise funds for Quidone’s family, Quidone was not brought to his court date on March 12, a day before he experienced the medical emergency that sent him to the hospital.

“There was no notice or information as to why he did not appear to court,” the GoFundMe read. “No information was provided to his family about his status or whereabouts.”

Quidone’s family was told on Friday that the 20-year-old had been found unconscious in a cell on Rikers the day before, according to the GoFundMe. He was pronounced dead two days later.

Quidone was in DOC custody for around 8 days before he died.

Quidone is the third person to die either in Department of Correction custody or shortly after being released from it in 2025.

Ramel Powell, a 38-year-old, died on Feb. 19 after being held in the city’s jail complex for 19 months.

Five days later, 55-year-old Terrance Moore died after experiencing a seizure inside Manhattan Criminal Court, where he had been brought from Rikers Island by the DOC for a court appearance.

Both deaths are under investigation.

Quidone is the 35th detainee to die since Mayor Eric Adams took office. Over 100 detainees have died while in the city’s care in the past decade.

Darren Mack, the co-director of the criminal justice advocacy group Freedom Agenda, blamed Adams and his administration for Quidone’s death, as well as the deaths of Moore and Powell.

“For the third time in less than a month, another New Yorker has received a death sentence before a trial – this time, a young person of just twenty-one years old,” Mack said. “This is the horrific and predictable result of the mayor and the NYPD commissioner’s cruel campaign to erode civil rights reforms and jail as many people as possible. They seem to believe the presumption of innocence should only apply if you’re the mayor.”

The deaths come as the city awaits a federal judge’s decision on whether or not the Department of Correction should continue its control over Rikers after proving that they’ve been unable to make the jails there less violent over the past decade, despite a court order to do so.

Should U.S. Southern District of New York Chief Judge Laura Swain order to put Rikers into a receivership – which she has previously said she was was “inclined” to do – the city could lose the right to control major elements of how the jail system is run.

The Legal Aid Society, which represents the plaintiffs in the ongoing civil rights case overseen by Swain and known as Nunez v. the City of New York, said in a statement that Quidone’s death is only further proof that the city should no longer be in charge of Rikers.

The public defense group also represented Quidone and blasted the DOC for their lack of transparency about Quidone’s death.

“[Quidone’s] untimely death at such a young age demands an immediate, swift, and independent investigation,” the Legal Aid Society said in a statement. “With each of these tragedies, City Hall and DOC leadership routinely deny counsel, the client’s family, and the general public access to the most basic information about what transpired. This is both cruel and unacceptable.”

““These deaths, which continue to mount, are all further evidence that the City is incapable of managing its jail system, and only an independent body, such as a receiver, can help ensure our clients’ well-being and safeguard their constitutional rights,” they added.