Mamdani Mourns Rikers Inmate Charged in 2024 Meat-Cleaver Killing as 3.2 Million View Post
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 27
Mamdani Mourns Rikers Inmate Charged in 2024 Meat-Cleaver Killing as 3.2 Million View Post
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 27
Summary
3.2 million views had piled up on Zohran Mamdani’s X post by Thursday after he said he was “deeply saddened” by the death of Clarence Woodward in Rikers Island custody.
Woodward was awaiting trial on murder, manslaughter and assault charges tied to a 2024 Bronx laundromat meat-cleaver attack; he had pleaded not guilty and had not been convicted.
Mamdani said the cause of death was still unknown, promised a Department of Correction investigation, and tied the case to his push to improve jail conditions and close Rikers quickly.
Conservative critics said the mayor was showing sympathy to an accused killer, reviving backlash from his July visit to Rikers for a World Cup watch party with inmates.
Rikers remains under heavy scrutiny as more than a dozen inmates have died there this year, with activists citing neglect and unsafe conditions at the 5,700-inmate jail complex.