Sheldon Silver
Sheldon Silver was a practicing Orthodox Jew who regularly attended religious services while held at Federal Medical Center Devens in Massachusetts. Records obtained by The City through a Freedom of Information Act request show that prison medical staff moved him in January 2022 to Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, where he was 77, had lost weight, was largely confined to bed with back pain, and had been intubated. According to the records, doctors removed his breathing tube when his condition seemed to improve, and he went into cardiac arrest a few hours later, dying on January 24, 2022. His family and advocates said he should have been considered for release earlier. The Bureau of Prisons disputed claims that his wife, Rosa, was blocked from visiting him at the hospital.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The Bureau of Prisons file obtained by THE CITY attributes the death to cardiac arrest hours after his breathing tube was removed, while his family and advocates say he should have been considered for release earlier and the Bureau disputed claims his wife was blocked from visiting him.
Reported by: Federal Bureau of Prisons file obtained by THE CITY through FOIA (the agency that held him); his family and advocates; THE CITY (reporters).