Friday, April 3, 2009

Revealed: 90 immigrants have died in US custody in last 5 1/2 years

By GottaLaff


I'm running out of room for all my outrage and horror:
At least 90 immigrants have died while in US custody since October 2003, a document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed Friday. At least 32 deaths occurred at facilities run by private contractors.

The document -- which has received little to no attention -- also displays an apparent carelessness on the part of prison officials, whose records of the deaths change and omit inmate deaths over time.

Moreover, it shows that prison officials are now recording even fewer details about immigrants' deaths, possibly in response to periodic scrutiny of the list. [...]

The list also reveals that one private company, the Corrections Corporation of America, had at least 18 deaths under its watch, and that 32 of the 90 deaths occurred while immigrants were held in private prisons. 37 of the deaths occurred at regional facilities and 20 at federal centers. [...]

In addition, information about some deaths has been obscured.

"Some information has been changed without explanation," the Times added. "For example, the cause of death for Boubacar Bah, 52, who was held at the Corrections Corporation of America detention center in Elizabeth, N.J., previously was listed as 'brain hemorrhage, fractured skull' and now reads 'undetermined.'"
The full list is available here.

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