An investigation is underway following the social media outcry over an incarcerated person’s death in a New York prison.
Anthony Myrie, 24, was less than three months into his sentence when he died under mysterious circumstances, according to PIX11. He was serving a seven-year prison term for drug-related charges.
Myrie's wife, Sade, says he seemed anxious when she spoke to him a few hours before his passing.
"He seemed worrisome like he didn’t want to get off the phone and I kind of tried to pry to see what was wrong," she said. "He said it was like nothing that he couldn’t handle."
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Her worry grew when she received a call from an incarcerated person who told her Anthony had been placed in solitary confinement. Sade called the prison to get more answers, but officials were evasive; eventually, a prison worker told her her husband was in critical condition.
His death shocked her.
"What happened to him? Where is he? How did he die? Who was around him? I just want to know," she said.
Sade says the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) didn’t give her any answers, so she and Anthony’s other loved ones demanded accountability on social media.
The family's efforts spawned an outpouring of support, including a post on Cardi B’s Instagram. The rapper expressed solidarity with Myrie's loved ones and wrote she found the circumstances around Anthony’s death to be suspicious based on her experience with the correctional facility.
"I remember when I went to visit someone in Green and I couldn’t stop crying cause the C.O. beat they face up so bad boy had a black eye for months!!" Cardi wrote. "And the s**t is ya been doing it FOR YEARS AND BEEN GETTING AWAY WITH IT FOR F**KIN YEARS!!!!"
Greene Correctional Facility officials have been accused of corruption in the past.
In 2016, formerly incarcerated person Matthew Thorton told the Times Union he was placed in a cell with another prisoner who was instructed to "take care of business" by a sergeant. Thorton claimed the beating was retaliation for complaints he made against officers. He also accused guards of attacking him in a prison van.
As of now, the official story is Myrie died after a conflict with other inmates. Blavity has reached out to DOCCS, but the department remained mum about the details surrounding Myrie’s death.
“Official cause of death will be determined and released by the Albany County Medical Examiner's Office pursuant to County Law §671 and §674, which state coroners and medical examiners determine cause of death,” DOCCS said in its statement. “County Law §677 leaves it to coroners and medical examiners to determine if and to whom results will be released. The investigation into the incident is ongoing and the department has no further comment.”
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