Warden at Rikers Island Demoted After Inmate Dies in Overheated Cell

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/04/nyregion/warden-at-rikers-island-demoted-after-inmate-dies-in-overheated-cell.html?partner=MYWAY&ei=5065

By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZAPRIL 3, 2014

New York City’s Correction Department, facing an outcry over the death of a mentally ill inmate in an overheated cell at Rikers Island, announced on Thursday that it was demoting the warden in charge of the mental health unit and punishing two other employees.

The inmate, Jerome Murdough, died in February after being left unattended for hours as the temperature in his cell climbed above 100 degrees. The authorities blamed a faulty heating unit for the high temperatures and said a correction officer who should have been checking regularly on inmates failed to do so.

Mr. Murdough’s death has intensified concerns about the city’s ability to care for prisoners who are mentally ill, particularly at Rikers Island, where inmates with mental illness are frequently neglected and abused. Mr. Murdough, 56, a homeless veteran with a history of alcohol abuse, died only a week after arriving at Rikers. He had been arrested on Feb. 7 on a trespassing charge.

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Correction officers have struggled with an influx of mentally ill inmates, who now make up nearly 40 percent of the population at Rikers. Faced with erratic behavior typical of some mentally ill inmates, guards have been known to respond both aggressively and indifferently.

Last month, federal authorities charged a correction officer with violating the civil rights of an inmate, who died in his cell after pleading for medical help for hours, the first such prosecution in at least a decade.

On Thursday, Norman Seabrook, the president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, which represents nearly 9,000 uniformed guards, said his members needed more mental health training.

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