Correctional officers at California’s Corcoran State Prison are facing scrutiny after an inmate was killed by his cellmate in March 2019 and the death went unnoticed for hours.
Authorities say the attack happened on March 8, 2019. Luis, a 44 year old inmate, was killed in his cell, and his cellmate Jaime, 31, who described himself as a satanist, was the person authorities identified as responsible. Jaime was already serving a life sentence for a 2011 killing.
According to the report, two guards recorded seeing Luis alive during safety checks the next day, but the checks were not actually completed. Officers did not discover what had happened until the following day.
Luis’s family sued over his death, accusing the prison of negligence. Their attorney, Justin Sterling, said the secrecy around incidents like this encourages misconduct. He added that the family should not have needed to file a lawsuit just to get basic answers about her son’s death.
The California inspector general’s office called the department’s handling of the case poor. The Department of Corrections has disputed the finding that the officers did not do their jobs properly.
Luis had served 27 years for second degree murder and was approaching parole eligibility when he died.
Made to order and shipped to your door.
