Story highlights Kalief Browder spent three years at Rikers Island

He was released after the charges against him were dropped

Browder spoke to CNN's sister network HLN in 2013

(CNN) A New York man who spent three years behind bars at Rikers Island without being convicted of a crime has taken his own life, his attorney told CNN.

Kalief Browder was a 16-year-old sophomore when he was arrested, and later charged with second-degree robbery. He was released in 2013 when the charges against him were dropped.

Paul Prestia, Browder's attorney, said Sunday that Browder hung himself Saturday. He had just turned 22.

"Every day was a struggle. He lived with a degree of sadness every day since his release," Prestia said.

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