After suffering either extreme dehydration or a heat stroke, a mentally ill Rikers Island inmate is said to have literally “baked to death” in his jail cell last month.
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According to the International Business Times, a medical examiner deemed the autopsy results of Jerome Murdough inconclusive, but officials say the 56-year-old most likely died from health complications after the temperature of his cell rose to 100 degrees.
In February, the former Marine was found sleeping in the stairwell of a Harlem housing project and promptly arrested for trespassing.
Rather than being given immediate mental health treatment, though, Murdough was thrown in a jail cell on a $2,500 bail.
A week later, he was relocated to a cell in the mental observation unit of Rikers, where inmates are essentially placed on suicide watch to be checked on every 15 minutes.
Murdough was not checked on, however, and was subsequently found dead in his cell just four hours after being moved.
The deceased’s family members are demanding that justice be enacted on the prison for treating a former Marine suffering the effects of battle like a junkie with no worth.
Although anyone would have felt the effects of the dramatic change in temperature, Murdough was particularly vulnerable to the extreme heat in his cell due to the anti-psychotic and anti-seizure medications he was taking.
He also did not open a small vent that would have let some cool air in like his fellow inmates did during the equipment malfunction.
Murdough grew up in Queens and joined the Marine Corps right out of high school, a service that left him with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and a drinking problem.
Family members said that mental illness and alcoholism had completely taken over upon his return, leading him to disappear for months at a time just to be found sleeping in hospitals, shelters and even on the streets.
H/T: International Times
This post originally appeared at Elite Daily
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Sean Levinson loves writing almost as much as he loves ranting about politics. Elite Daily lets him do both, and he couldn’t be happier now that he’s finally putting his years at SUNY New Paltz to good use. When he’s not writing, Sean enjoys nature excursions, playing the guitar and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Look for him on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” where he regularly appears in his most precious fantasies.
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