John MacKenzie
John MacKenzie, 70, was a practicing Buddhist who led and taught the people held with him, and his friend Mark Shervington remembers him as a stand-up, righteous man whose good nature helped younger men stay focused. His daughter Denise said she spoke with him the night before he died, that he was perfectly fine and did not seem depressed, and the family said he had no major health problems. He died on August 4, 2016, at Fishkill Correctional Facility in Beacon, New York, and state police said his death appeared consistent with suicide, pending autopsy and toxicology results. In a letter to his daughter written days earlier, he described sleep deprivation from bed checks and psychological abuse at the prison, claims a union spokesman called baseless, and the state corrections department has said its investigation is ongoing.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). State police said the death appeared to be a suicide, but in a letter to his daughter days earlier he described sleep deprivation from bed checks and psychological abuse, and advocates say he might still be alive if parole reform had passed.
Reported by: state police; John MacKenzie's daughter (family or their lawyers); People's Campaign for Parole Justice (advocates).