Horrible. Just horrible.
Several New York City officials are coming forward with the truth behind how an inmate died behind bars last month while locked up at Rikers Island.
According to them, the victim was “baked to death!”
Jerome Murdough, a 56-year-old homeless veteran with a history of mental illness, had been charged with trespassing and was placed in an observation unit for inmates with mental health issues.
Sources say Murdough did not open the small vent inside of his cell that allows cool air in. The temperature inside soon reached well over 100 degrees and Jerome was later found dead.
Officials admit that he was left behind bars for hours, unchecked, which is a violation of department protocol. Had he been looked in on, his vent could have been opened for him and his life could have been spared.
The officials who came forward did so anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation being done by the New York Department of Correction.
No doubt, with this tragic case of incompetence coming forward, the city will have A LOT of explaining to do.
[Image via Williams Institute.]