Death under investigation at Greene Correctional Facility

COXSACKIE — News of the death of a 24-year-old inmate at Greene Correctional Facility in Coxsackie gained national attention Thursday as two rap superstars weighed in on the incident, accusing prison officials of a coverup.

Anthony Myrie was pronounced dead at Albany Medical Center following an altercation with several other inmates, according to state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision officials, who issued a statement Thursday.

The Albany County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause of death, officials said.

Myrie began serving a seven-year sentence for attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance in the 3rd degree, a class B felony, last November.

Myrie committed the crime in New York County, according to state corrections officials. The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision declined to make any further comment on the investigation.

The incident has gained national recognition, with best-selling rappers Cardi B and Meek Mill taking to social media to express their outrage over Myrie’s death.

The musicians shared a viral post on their Instagrams that originated within Myrie’s inner circle of family and friends, adding their own commentary about what they perceived as an unjust death that the facility is trying to cover up, according to the posts.

More than 500 inmate deaths occurred between 2009 and 2012 in state correctional facilities, according to the most recent mortality study performed by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

The study found that 81 percent of the deaths were due to natural causes, 11 percent were suicides and four percent were caused by AIDS. Two percent were listed as homicides and one percent were listed as drug overdoses and accidents, or categorized as “other.”

Greene Correctional Facility is a medium-security state prison located in a field behind the maximum-security Coxsackie Correctional Facility off Route 9W in the town of Coxsackie.

The capacity of Greene Correctional Facility is 1,813 inmates. General population inmates are housed in open dormitories. Offenders who are difficult to manage are housed in a 15-bed special housing unit or in a 200-bed isolation unit called S-Block.