Police Misconduct & Inmate or In Custody Death

California Navy Vet in Mental Health Crisis Dead After Police Officer Kneels on Neck

February 24th, 2021

A mental health crisis two days before Christmas ended with the death of a young Navy veteran. The family of Angelo Quinto, 30, called 911 after he began behaving erratically. After suffering a head injury in an assault a year earlier, he had grown paranoid and anxious. His sister, Isabella, said...

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Man Dies of COVID-19 at Houston Jail Mainly Because He Was Poor

February 9th, 2021

Preston Chaney, 64, could have been the poster child for a person most vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19. He had diabetes and suffered from heart and liver disease. After his arrest for burglary in the midst of the pandemic, he could have been out on bail had he managed to find $100. He did not...

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Report by Sen. Elizabeth Warren Shines A Light on Corrupt Prison Audits

February 1st, 2021

Following a lengthy investigation, Sen. Elizabeth Warren published a report on the dubious process by which prisons are approved for operation in our country.
For a year and a half, Warren and her staff looked at how the American Correctional Association (ACA) audits prisons. The ACA is an...

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Georgia Man Dies in Jail After Arrest for Not Changing Address

January 11th, 2021

A man arrested for not changing his address with his probation officer died in jail three days later. Lee Michael Creely, 34, was on probation for a drug possession offense. He had moved into a new home with his girlfriend, Jessica Hodges, and their sons, ages 7 and 12, just three weeks...

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Family of Mentally Ill Texas Man Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Bexar County Sheriff’s Office

December 28th, 2020

Fernando Macias died nine months after a psychotic episode that ended in the death of his mother and his own serious wounding. Macias had been diagnosed with a schizoaffective disorder.
His is just one of several deaths raising questions at Texas’ Bexar County Adult Detention Center....

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Mother of St. Louis County Inmate Who Died of Survivable Leukemia After Medical Care Denial Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

December 23rd, 2020

On February 28, 2019, Lamar Catchings, 20, was discovered dead in his cell at the St. Louis County Jail. The young man had begged staff to allow him to see a doctor, but they refused. Instead, a nurse accused Catchings of faking his illness just a few days prior to his death.
He had...

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New Hampshire Man’s Estate Sues DOC in Connection With Death in Psychiatric Unit

December 21st, 2020

In December 2017, the New Hampshire Department of Corrections issued a news release stating that Phillip Borcuk, an inmate at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men (NHSPM), died after engaging in “self-injurious” behavior. Three years later, Borcuk’s estate is suing the DOC and...

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Medical Neglect by Private Contractors Raises Jail Death Rate

November 30th, 2020

A recent Reuters report found that jails that resort to private healthcare providers have a higher death rate than facilities serviced by government agencies.
The privatization of inmate healthcare has had tragic consequences across the country. When contractors put profits first, doctors are...

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Two Years After Veteran Dies in Florida Jail, Video of His Tasering and Convulsing Emerges

November 18th, 2020

Decorated former U.S. Army medic Gregory Lloyd Edwards, 38, witnessed a lot of horror during his years in the service. It affected him profoundly and may have contributed to his death years later in a Brevard County jail. What caused his death, however, was a lack of attention and the failure to...

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Federal Judge Orders Connecticut DOC to Release “Willfully” Delayed Information on Prison Medical Care

November 9th, 2020

The worst instances of potential medical malpractice in the prison system. That is what Federal Judge Thomas O. Farrish called the situation regarding 25 inmates under the care of the Connecticut Department of Corrections (“DOC”). On November 4, Farrish ruled that the state must turn...

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