This week’s death, which incarcerated people and advocates described as a suicide, comes at a time of turmoil in the facility.
By Rebecca McCray, New York Focus
This story originally appeared in New York Focus, a nonprofit news publication investigating power in New York. Sign up for their newsletter here.
Three women have died over the past month at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in Bedford, NY. | Photo: Prison Insight
Early Wednesday morning, 60-year-old Manuela “Mannie” Morgado was found dead in her unit at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in an apparent suicide, according to people incarcerated with her and local advocates.
Pamela Smart, incarcerated with Morgado, said she watched in disbelief as staff attempted to resuscitate her longtime friend. “I watched the whole heartbreaking thing, but there was nothing they could do. … I will never forget how blue her feet were,” Smart told New York Focus over the prison messaging service.
Morgado, who was serving a sentence of 20 years-to-life for killing her young child, is the third person to die at the state’s only maximum security women’s prison in the past four weeks. Their deaths come at a time of mounting frustrations within the facility.
Tracy Morales, another woman who died there this month, also died by suicide, according to advocates and people currently or formerly incarcerated at Bedford Hills. An online obituary attributes the death of the third, Shamdai Arjun, to cancer.
“It’s an anomaly, and a concerning anomaly, to see three deaths” in early 2026, said Sumeet Sharma, director of the Correctional Association of New York, a nonprofit tasked with overseeing prison conditions. Between 2020 and 2025, there were seven deaths in total at Bedford Hills.
The deaths will be reviewed by the State Commission of Correction, said Thomas Mailey, director of public information for the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Any death that appears to be from something other than natural causes “is thoroughly investigated by New York State Police and DOCCS’ Office of Special Investigations,” he said.
The increase in deaths mirrors a broader trend in the state’s prisons in 2026, according to Sharma. Last year, there were 130 deaths total in the state’s prisons. As of today, there have been 31 reported deaths in New York prisons since the year started. If the deaths continue at that pace, there would be roughly 180 deaths by the end of the year, more than any year since at least 2020, according to data analyzed by the Correctional Association of New York.
Suicides in particular have been on the rise: 2024 saw more than double the usual number of suicides across New York’s state prisons, the Correctional Association found.
Sharma partially attributes the rise in deaths to ongoing staffing issues throughout the DOCCS system. Staffing shortages existed even before a corrections officers strike last year, from which the system is still recovering, and have resulted in more limited access to medical care and programming.
Morales was housed in a therapeutic behavioral unit at Bedford Hills. Morgado was housed in an “honor” unit called Fiske cottage accessible only to incarcerated people who have maintained good disciplinary records.
Living in Fiske cottage comes with privileges not afforded to the general population, like access to a large kitchen and a private yard. Kelly Harnett, who served seven years at Bedford Hills and described herself as a close friend of Morgado’s, recalled how the unit changed her friend’s life after she moved there from the general population.
“Mannie wanted peace and quiet, and that’s what she got,” said Harnett.
Outside the honor unit, the prison’s atmosphere has dramatically changed in recent months, according to currently and formerly incarcerated people, advocates, and prison watchdogs.
In the fall, Bedford Hills appointed Michel Blot, a longtime DOCCS employee, as the prison’s deputy superintendent of security. Blot has faced allegations of abuse at other prisons in the state.
Blot could not immediately be reached for comment. In response to questions about Blot’s track record, Mailey said the prison agency “does not tolerate violence or abuse of any kind in our correctional facilities” and that the department “will hold accountable any individuals found to have committed abuse or violence inside its facilities and will refer cases for prosecution as appropriate.”
After Blot’s arrival, women who previously had some freedom of movement outside of their cells reported being confined for extended periods of time, according to Sharma, whose colleagues conducted a monitoring visit on behalf of the Correctional Association roughly three weeks ago. Women are now required to sign up for any out-of-cell activity, including a shower. To supplement showers, Sharma and Smart said, incarcerated people were given buckets and told to wash themselves using the sinks in their cells.
Mailey disputed the notion that prisoners were worse off. “The allegations regarding recent operational changes at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility are inaccurate and misleading,” he said in an email. “Beginning November 10, 2025, additional structure was implemented in five units that previously had minimal control, contributing to frequent fights and safety concerns. Incarcerated individuals now sign up for showers, kitchen access, phones, and laundry using scheduled time slots to ensure fair access. Shower access has not been eliminated or limited.”
Women in Fiske were insulated from some of the new restrictions, according to Smart. But Morgado recently received a disciplinary ticket that put her at risk of being sent back to the more restrictive general population after years in the honors cottage. Smart and Harnett said she was very upset.
Vanessa Santiago, a community leader and canvasser with the Release Aging People in Prison campaign, served 22 years at Bedford Hills and said she was also a friend of Morgado’s. During Santiago’s time in prison, she said she tried to take her life more than once.
“It’s very hard to keep your sanity when every little thing is scrutinized, and it feels like you’re being punished for every little thing,” Santiago told New York Focus.
“If she did commit suicide, I understand why.”
Smart remembers her friend as a talented artist, whose work still decorates the walls of the honor cottage.
“She exuded light and joy in every space she entered,” said Smart. “I cannot believe she is gone.”
