A 37-year-old man died in a city jail on Rikers Island early Wednesday, the first death in the system in 2025, according to officials and sources.
The man, identified by sources as Ramel Powell, had been held in the Otis Bantum Correctional Center . He was sent to Rikers in July, 2023 – 19 months ago – on a parole violation related to a robbery and an arrest in Manhattan on assault charges, according to city records.
The sources said the death was being investigated as a possible fatal overdose, but that was not confirmed by the Correction Department…