US Justice Department watchdog blames 'deficiencies' in many inmate deaths

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The Justice Department's independent watchdog released its final report Thursday on hundreds of inmate deaths while in federal prisons, finding "operational and managerial deficiencies" contributed to "unsafe conditions" prior to many of the deaths.

The Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) did not specify an exact number that it attributed to the "deficiencies," only saying they were found in "a number of" the deaths.

The blistering report examined 344 inmate deaths that took place over eight years beginning in the 2014 fiscal year. It examined suicides, homicides, accidents and deaths resulting from unknown factors. Healthcare-associated deaths were omitted.

Over half of the deaths were attributed to suicide, which the report said is a "significant risk area" for the Bureau of Prisons. Over half of the deaths by suicide were found in inmates who were assigned to single cell confinement, and instances were found of staff not completing mental health assessments and "potentially inappropriate mental health care level assignments for some inmates," Inspector General Michael Horowitz said in a video message.

Homicides were the second-most reported cause of death.

"Many of the deaths" determined to be accidental or associated with unknown factors were drug overdoses, the OIG report said, noting that contraband drugs and weapons were factors in "many of the" inmate deaths. That includes the 70 who died due to drug overdoses.

The review determined that "shortcomings in BOP staffs emergency responses" contributed to nearly half of all inmate deaths. That includes failure to bring appropriate emergency equipment, unclear radio communication, and a general lack of urgency in conducting the response.

The report comes in the wake of several high-profile prisoner deaths, including the 2018 killing of Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulgar, and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein's 2019 suicide.

Bulgar was beaten to death by fellow inmates after being sent to a new prison. Epstein's death, meanwhile, has been the focus of intense skepticism and conspiracy theories.