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People Are Furious These Publications Said Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam's Death 'Appears to Be a Suicide'

Twitter also received backlash for trending "Hudson River" instead of her name.

On Wednesday, the body of 65-year-old Sheila Abdus-Salaam, an associate judge on New York State’s highest court and the first African-American woman to serve on that bench, was found in the Hudson River, reported the New York Times

  • According to the New York Police Department’s Harbor Unit, a floating body was reported around 1:45 p.m. near 132nd Street. Paramedics then pulled Judge Abdus-Salaam’s body out of the water and she was pronounced dead around 2 p.m.

    New York Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted his condolences and called Judge Abdus-Salaam a "force for good."

  • Abdus-Salaam was elected as a judge in New York City in 1991 and she was elected to New York County's Supreme Court in 1993. Gov. David Paterson appointed her to the state's appellate division in 2009, and in 2013, she was appointed and confirmed to the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court.

    Authorities said there were no signs of trauma or injuries. The New York Post reported that her death appeared to be suicide.

  • Upon seeing how publications mentioned her death as an apparent suicide, many people were furious and demanded a proper investigation

  • Additionally, people slammed Twitter for trending 'Hudson River' instead of Judge Abdus-Salaam's name

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