NYC, family reach $2.25M deal in hot cell death, official says

New York City will pay $2.25 million to resolve a wrongful death claim by the family of a mentally ill, homeless Marine Corps veteran who died at the Rikers Island jail complex eight days after his arrest, the city's comptroller announced Friday.

Jerome Murdough, 56, was found dead in his cell at Rikers Island on Feb. 15. The city medical examiner's office later said his death was accidental and due to hyperthermia caused by exposure to heat.

The settlement, announced by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, came after Murdough's mother in May filed a $25 million notice of claim against the city for negligence, civil rights violations and wrongful death.

Stringer said he hoped the settlement would bring "some small measure" of closure for Murdough's family, including his mother, Alma, who appeared at the news conference.

"This is a very awful thing I'm going through, and I hope no one else has to go through this," Alma Murdough said.

The settlement came amid increased scrutiny of Rikers Island, one of the world's largest jail complexes, holding some 11,400 prisoners on an average day.

In August, the office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said it had found a pattern of abuse of 16- and 17-year-old inmates that breached their constitutional rights.

Earlier this month, Stringer released a report that found that violence at Rikers had increased over the past seven years even as spending had climbed to deal with a declining inmate population.

The Department of Corrections announced earlier this week that William Clemons, the chief of the department, would be stepping down.

Murdough was arrested in early February and charged with criminal trespass after he was found resting in a stairwell in a Manhattan public housing project. Murdough was unable to post bail, which a judge had set at $2,500.

The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner in September ruled Murdough's death an accident, and said the cause was "hyperthermia due to environmental exposure to heat."

A lawsuit Murdough's mother filed in May in connection with her notice of claim said three hours after he was found unresponsive, Murdough's internal body temperature was 103 degrees Fahrenheit and his cell was 101 degrees.