Rikers 7th 2026 Custody Death — Mamdani "Deeply Saddened" Statement Draws Victim-Family Backlash

Clarence Woodward, 41, was found in medical distress at the Robert N. Davoren Center on Rikers around 5:00am Aug 25 and pronounced dead at 5:40am — the 7th person to die in NYC DOC custody this year and the second in a week (Christopher Rodriguez, 36, died Aug 20 at the Outposted Therapeutic Housing Unit at Bellevue). Woodward was awaiting trial on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the Aug 8, 2024 meat-cleaver killing of 45-year-old Jose Miranda at a Bronx laundromat. Mayor Mamdani posted that he was "deeply saddened" and that his thoughts were with the family; the Miranda family and several outlets criticized the statement for centering the accused rather than the victim. Frames the political tension between the administration's stated Close Rikers commitment (Dana Kaplan named czar Apr 2026) and DOC custody outcomes on its watch.