Selmin Feratovic
Selmin Feratovic, 28, was a father to two young sons, and his sister described him as a good father with a very big heart. His girlfriend, Nicole Hernandez, said he wanted to change. He was found dead in his cell at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island in the early morning of October 19, 2017. The city medical examiner ruled his death an accident from acute opioid intoxication, and his family has questioned how he could have obtained fentanyl in a city jail. His lawyer says she repeatedly urged him to seek addiction treatment, that he wanted a program, and that he should have received meaningful help while he was held.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of an overdose (disputed; neglect alleged). The city medical examiner ruled the death an accident from acute opioid intoxication, but his family questions how he obtained fentanyl in jail, and his public defender says the system failed to protect him, including a captain who allegedly brought gym shorts into his cell and did not file an incident report.
Reported by: city medical examiner's office (medical examiner or coroner); Department of Correction spokesman Peter Thorne (the agency that held him); family and their public defender; city judge; unnamed police sources.
Sources (5)
- Rikers Island inmate’s death investigated as overdose
- Bad Bail Practices and Immigration Policy Led To My Client’s Death At Rikers
- Rikers inmate who died of overdose ‘needed’ and ‘wanted’ rehab program — but was never treated
- Bronx DA launches probe into Rikers Island inmate’s death from fentanyl overdose
- Exclusive | Rikers captain fired after judge finds he had ‘something to hide’ in inmate’s 2017 death