The Cresaptown prison staff is 96 percent white and the inmate population 76 percent black. [more]
An inmate who died after a violent
struggle with correctional staff at a Western Maryland prison last year
was handled appropriately and did not appear to be in medical distress
after the encounter, according to court papers filed by state lawyers
representing the officers. The papers offer the first detailed account
by state officials of events leading to Ifeanyi A. Iko's death by
asphyxiation. They were filed by the state attorney general's office in
response to a civil suit by Iko's family that seeks $28 million in
damages. The state specifically denied claims that Iko, 51, was dead
when officials had an ambulance remove him from the Western
Correctional Institution near Cumberland. If he had been declared dead
while inside the prison, WCI officials would have been required under
correctional department rules to take steps to secure the scene and
preserve evidence. Gary C. Adler, a lawyer representing Iko's family,
has contended that removing Iko's body -- but handling him as if he
were alive -- was part of a deliberate effort by the prison staff to
cover up the circumstances of his death April 30. In their lawsuit, Iko family members say that he was
"discovered cold and without a pulse" about an hour and a half after he
had been left lying in the cell. [more]
Ifeanyi A. Iko died in custody, leaving questions about his treatment and suspicions of a cover-up. [more]
FBI launches probe into death of Md. inmate [more]
Prison officers blocked medical help for inmate, Iko kin allege Complaint is in civil suit seeking $28 million [more]
Pictured above: The
death of Nigerian immigrant Ifeanyi A. Iko was the first homicide
recorded at the Western Correctional Institution. "I clearly heard Iko
scream out, then abruptly go silent," a fellow inmate said. [more]
