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Kentucky inmate starves himself to death; doctor fired, hunger strike rules rewritten

4-22-2014 Kentucky:

A prison doctor has been fired and two other staffers are in the midst of being dismissed after an inmate at the Kentucky State Penitentiary starved himself to death, a case that has exposed lapses in medical treatment and in how hunger strikes are handled at the facility. Prison officials have asked prosecutors to investigate after The Associated Press began asking questions about the inmate’s death.

James Kenneth Embry, 57 and with just three years left on a nine-year sentence for drug offences, began to spiral out of control in the spring of 2013 after he stopped taking anti-anxiety medication. Seven months later, in December, after weeks of erratic behaviour — from telling prison staff he felt anxious and paranoid to banging his head on his cell door — Embry eventually refused most of his meals. By the time of his death in January of this year, he had shed more than 30 pounds on his 6-foot frame and died weighing just 138 pounds, according to documents reviewed by the AP.

An internal investigation determined that medical personnel failed to provide him medication that may have kept his suicidal thoughts at bay and didn’t take steps to check on him as his condition worsened. The internal review of Embry’s death also exposed broader problems involving the treatment of inmates — including a failure to regularly check inmates on medical rounds and communication lapses among medical staff.

The AP, tipped off to Embry’s death, obtained scores of documents under Kentucky’s Open Records Act, including a report detailing the investigation into Embry’s death, an autopsy report and personnel files. Along with interviews with corrections officials and correspondence with inmates, the documents describe Embry’s increasingly paranoid behaviour until his death and the numerous opportunities for various prison staff to have intervened.

Body in Willamette River identified

4-21-2014 Oregon:

A body that was found in the Willamette River near Albany on Sunday was identified as Jared Ethan Brown, 45, of Portland, the Linn County Sheriff's Office said Monday.

Brown was reporting missing on March 31 by Sheila Smith who was traveling with Brown on a bus from Roseburg to the Portland area. The bus stopped in Corvallis, and Brown wandered off, officials said. Smith reported Brown missing to Corvallis police who initiated the search but did not find Brown.

Brown was recovered by the Linn County Sheriff's Office Sunday afternoon and was identified using fingerprint records from one of his previous arrests. He was a registered sex offender and on post-prison supervision. The Medical Examiner's Office found no indications of foul play.

Brown attempted suicide on March 23 by jumping off a bridge in the Roseburg area, officials said. He was taken to a hospital for medical evaluation, treated and released. ..Source.. by Kasia Hall

Houston FBI leads global search for victims of predator teacher

4-22-2014 Texas, Minnesota:

FBI agents from Houston are spearheading an international probe to determine how many students at elite private schools in nine countries fell victim to a teacher who authorities contend was a serial predator for more than four decades.

The local agents went public with their investigation Tuesday, saying they may never know how many victims William James Vahey exploited during a global career that began in 1972 after he stopped registering for a molestation conviction in California.

A thumb drive holds photos that show he had at least 90 victims since 2008 alone, according to the Houston FBI agents who are leading the ongoing global probe to find his victims as well as determine the extent of his crime.

Vahey, 64, committed suicide in a Minnesota hotel room last month before he could be arrested and perhaps provide some answers.

Man Wanted On Child Pornography Charges Commits Suicide

5-8-2014 Florida:

A man wanted on multiple out-of- state warrants for possession of child pornography died Wednesday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after members of the U.S. Marshals Service Regional Fugitive Task Force arrived at a Crestview hotel to take him into custody.

The Task Force members, including deputies from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, were called out to the Holiday Inn Express at 125 Cracker Barrel Road in Crestview early Wednesday morning.

The suspect, considered armed and dangerous, was believed to be hiding out in a room at the hotel. Task Force members knocked on his door shortly before 2 a.m. and announced their presence. As they were attempting to enter the room, they heard a single gunshot. 45 year old Richard Allen Garretson of Huntington West Virginia was found wounded inside and pronounced dead a short time later by EMS personnel.

Pinellas Jail inmate chose death over prison

5-6-2014 Florida:

Just a few weeks before he was to be sentenced in a solicitation-to-commit murder case, a convicted sex offender was found dead over the weekend at the Pinellas County Jail, his defense attorney confirmed.

Attorney Deb Moss said Tuesday morning she was notified Saturday that David Tyler, 56, was found dead and that he appeared to have killed himself.

Tyler was convicted last month of solicitation to commit murder. Prosecutors claimed he enlisted a fellow inmate at the jail to find someone to kill his aunt after his aunt told a judge her nephew should not be released on bond during a pending case in which he was accused of stalking a 13-year-old boy.

Tyler was scheduled to be sentenced May 23 in the solicitation-to-commit murder case. Because of his criminal history, he faced a sentence of 15 years to life.

Police: Man accused of abusing immigrant boys found dead in Salt Lake County jail cell

4-29-2014 Utah:

A man who was jailed after being accused of drugging and sexually abusing teenage immigrant boys and forcing them to deal drugs has killed himself in his cell, authorities said Tuesday.

Victor Manuel Rax, 42, was found dead in his jail cell on Monday, the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office said in a statement to The Associated Press.

An investigation into the death is continuing, but authorities said they do not suspect foul play.

Prosecutors say Rax raped immigrant teens and children as young as 9. They say he threatened the children's families in order to force the children to sell drugs in Utah high schools and to submit to abuse.

He also bought the children shoes and other gifts to further coerce them, investigators said.

Man suspected of child abuse, pornography kills himself after standoff

5-3-2014 Oklahoma:

It happened in south Broken Arrow Friday night into Saturday morning

Broken Arrow, Okla. — A man suspected of child pornography and sexual abuse killed himself after a standoff with police in Broken Arrow early Saturday morning.

Maj. Mark Irwin with Broken Arrow police tells KRMG the incident started around 10 p.m., in a neighborhood near West Jasper St. and South Aspen Ave., (!45h E. Ave. and 131st St.).

Detectives served a search warrant for child abuse, child sex abuse, and child pornography on John Murray Jr.'s home after a family member approached them with evidence.

Irwin said detectives served the warrant after hours because of the fear that Murray might destroy evidence.

"The situation developed rapidly," he said.

New York man convicted in child pornography case dies after being found unresponsive in prison cell

5-5-2014 Arizona:

TUCSON, Arizona — A New York state man sentenced to 37 years in prison in a child pornography case has died after being found unresponsive in his prison cell in Arizona.

The federal Bureau of Prisons says an autopsy will determine the cause of death of Benet Schmidt of Cohoes, New York, who died Sunday, a day after he was found unresponsive at the federal prison in Tucson.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Shreveport, Louisiana, Schmidt pleaded guilty in April 2012 to engaging in a child-exploitation enterprise.

The office says dozens of people were convicted in the case stemming from an online child-porn bulletin board known as Dreamboard. ..Source.. by The Republic

Child pornography suspect dies in jail

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