Prison Guards Who Boiled A Schizophrenic Man to Death not charged by State Attorney

[Gangsters_Paradise]

A One Sided System ?

The water was turned up top 180 degrees — hot enough to steep tea or cook Ramen noodles.

As punishment, four corrections officers — John Fan Fan, Cornelius Thompson, Ronald Clarke and Edwina Williams — kept Rainey in that shower for two full hours. Rainey was heard screaming "Please take me out! I can’t take it anymore!” and kicking the shower door. Inmates said prison guards laughed at Rainey and shouted "Is it hot enough?"

Rainey died inside that shower. He was found crumpled on the floor. When his body was pulled out, nurses said there were burns on 90 percent of his body. A nurse said his body temperature was too high to register with a thermometer. And his skin fell off at the touch.

But in an unconscionable decision, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle's office announced Friday that the four guards who oversaw what amounted to a medieval-era boiling will not be charged with a crime.

“The shower was itself neither dangerous nor unsafe,’’ the report says. “The evidence does not show that Rainey’s well-being was grossly disregarded by the correctional staff.’’

"Accordingly and in conclusion," Rundle wrote, "the facts and evidence in this case do not meet the required elements for the filing of any criminal charge."

She then signed her name.

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/f...enic-black-man-darren-rainey-to-death-9213190

Katherine Fernandez Rundle has a history of covering up for her corrupt goons

Miami-Dade County has had the same prosecutor since Bill Clinton was president. Beginning in 1993, through the Clinton, Bush, Obama, and now Trump eras, she has not once charged a police officer for an on-duty killing.

What Katherine Fernandez Rundle, age 67, has done instead is make decades' worth of excuses for public officials accused of corruption and murder. When a Miami-Dade cop tasered a man to death, the officer wasn't charged. When a Miami-Dade cop was fired for shooting an unarmed black man, the officer walked free and was later rehired. When a group of cops lured robbers into the Redland and shot them on video, Rundle declined to charge the officers.

But now, in neglecting to charge the four prison guards who threw a black, schizophrenic inmate, Darren Rainey, into a scalding-hot shower for two hours until he died, Rundle has reached an all-time low.

Rundle's office announced its decision not to pursue charges in Rainey's case late Friday afternoon. The news dump was clearly designed to bury the story for the weekend and shield her from criticism. She should not be shielded. The facts of Rainey's case are grotesque: He was thrown into a 180-degree shower for two hours, and inmates said they heard him screaming that the water was too hot.

Rainey was found dead, crumpled in a heap on the floor of the shower. Nurses who were interviewed at the time said that they saw red burns on his body and that Rainey's skin was peeling off.

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/k...e-county-state-attorney-is-a-disgrace-9213209

 

[wlu.29]

Was this a for profit jail?

 

[Stitches4snitches]

Thought boiling occurred at 212 degrees Fahrenheit? 180 ain't boiling--fake news!

 

[Limbo Pete]

Sickening

 

[Fedorable]

I wonder how much of this is true.

Just seems strange not to have any charges if there was evidence.

 

[S Class]

Those shitty prison guards need to be put to death.

"When his body was pulled out, nurses said there were burns on 90 percent of his body. A nurse said his body temperature was too high to register with a thermometer. And his skin fell off at the touch."

When medical staff, like nurses, provide intervention or care, they are supposed to document it. The information collected in medical records can be considered proof. Couldn't they have used that in the court case?

 

[ICHEERTHEBULL]

I wonder how much of this is true.

Just seems strange not to have any charges if there was evidence.

Very strange that no charges have been brought. Maybe they couldn't prove who put him in the shower, let's say there were four guards involved but six guards are possible suspects. I don't know, I'm clutching at straws here but seems very strange. If they said the shower was safe and not dangerous how liable would they have been keeping the prisoner in there?

 

[Teppodama]

Florida judges may be removed in one of two ways:

• 
  On the recommendation of the judicial qualifications commission, the supreme court may discipline, retire, or remove a judge.
  

• Judges may be impeached by a two-thirds vote of the house of representatives and convicted by a two-thirds vote of the senate.

If this judge has a history of these sorts of rulings, especially in the face of evidence of guilt, then governor should be pressured to have Florida's senator call for a Congressional or Scotus review of the judge with an eye toward censure or removal.

 

[Teppodama]

Very strange that no charges have been brought. Maybe they couldn't prove who put him in the shower, let's say there were four guards involved but six guards are possible suspects. I don't know, I'm clutching at straws here but seems very strange. If they said the shower was safe and not dangerous how liable would they have been keeping the prisoner in there?

Even if they thought the shower was safe, what is the justification for keeping him in there for two hours?

 

[TheTimeIsNotNow]

Florida

 

[Bloodworth]

Humans are funny people. What was he in jail for?
You read these sick articles about people who commit horrible acts and many reponses call for torture and death.
Then people get upset when it happens

 

[Son of Jamin]

This makes my blood boil with anger!

 

[usmctanker242]

Also from the article :

"Rundle's 72-page close-out memo leans heavily on an autopsy report that has been roundly criticized by civil rights advocates. The report claims Rainey was not found with burns when he died. Howard Simon, executive director of the Florida American Civil Liberties Association, has said that the report, which was leaked to the media during the investigation, showed that a federal investigation was needed.

Rundle's office, however, noted that one Miami-Dade County cop reported that nurses said Rainey's body had "red areas" on it and that his skin was, indeed, "slipping off" after he was removed from the shower. Rundle's memo said, however, that this could have instead been due to "body decomposition" rather than burns.

"In response to specific questions by Detective Sanchez regarding burns, Dr. [Emma] Lew advised that Rainey did not sustain any obvious external injuries, and, particularly, that there were no thermal injuries (burns) of any kind on his body," the report says. It then adds that from 2012 to 2014, no cause of death was determined.

This was complicated, however, by the fact that Rainey's family members say they were pressured to rapidly cremate his body. If further evidence of a murder existed, it has long been burnt to ashes. "

Of course they can't charge these prison guards as there is no evidence. The autopsy report, which I'm assuming is official and was conducted by an MD, stated there were no burns. Then it says the family cremated the body... so what is the state or prosecution supposed to go court with? A whole lot of nothing with nobody to testify?

 

[Teppodama]

1st degree burns can take up to 24hrs to produce blisters

 

[usmctanker242]

Here's another article talking about the investigation.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article139206653.html

Who the fuck knows what happens, but I'll trust an MD autopsy report over some newspaper who is obviously trying to make this a story.
"
Dr. Emma Lew, Miami-Dade’s medical examiner, was emphatic, however, that Rainey did not suffer burns of any kind, and there was no evidence of any trauma on his body, according to the state attorney’s report issued Friday. "

That's followed by hearsay about some "never released preliminary report" which suggests the opposite, but of course there's no like to this "report."

Also you have this from a prosecutor who looked at the case :

"
David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor who reviewed the report for the Herald, said it’s clear that the evidence did not meet the legal standard required to charge any of the officers with a crime.

“If you want to buy the government-conspiracy theory that the state attorney never charges corrections officers because they are part of the conspiracy, you are going to say they twisted the facts to support their theory,” he said.

“But if you look at it objectively, I don’t disagree with the results that were released. The only person that says that Rainey was burned and scalded was one inmate — and when you compare that to the rest of the evidence, it’s not consistent.” "

Who knows what really happened but what do you go to court with? The testimony of a single person versus a mountain of evidence, including an autopsy report? Sucks this dude was in jail for cocaine and that he died, but I'm not certain he died because of the actions of the prison guards. It says he was taken to the shower because he shit himself and refused to clean himself up.

 

[usmctanker242]

1st degree burns can take up to 24hrs to produce blisters

Not sure 1st degree burns produce blisters at all.
http://www.healthline.com/health/first-degree-burn#Overview1
http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/pain-caused-by-burns

Both of these sources list blistering as a 2nd degree burn. 1st degree burns can give reddened skin and swelling, but isn't blistering the actual qualifier for a 2nd degree burn?

 

[WiolentOne]

Dangerous fake news.

 

[ICHEERTHEBULL]

Even if they thought the shower was safe, what is the justification for keeping him in there for two hours?

None at all. I'm just trying to get my head around no charges to answer

 

[Teppodama]

Not sure 1st degree burns produce blisters at all.
http://www.healthline.com/health/first-degree-burn#Overview1
http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/pain-caused-by-burns

Both of these sources list blistering as a 2nd degree burn. 1st degree burns can give reddened skin and swelling, but isn't blistering the actual qualifier for a 2nd degree burn?

You are correct, my mistake on that. Blisters form in 2nd degree burns and can develop quickly or take 24 hrs to develop.

• first-degree burns: red, nonblistered skin
• second-degree burns: blisters and some thickening of the skin
• third-degree burns: widespread thickness with a white, leathery appearance

Burns have a variety of causes, including:

• scalding from hot, boiling liquids

The type of burn is not based on the cause of it. Scalding, for example, can cause all three burns, depending on how hot the liquid is and how long it stays in contact with the skin.

Hot Water Scalding

• Definition
  Scalding is a burn to the skin or flesh caused by moist heat and hot vapors such as steam. When the heat applied is approximately equivalent, a scald is deeper than a burn from dry heat and should be treated as a burn. Healing is slower and scar formation is greater.
  
  Scalding is a second-degree burn which is deeper and results in splitting of skin layers or blistering. Scalding with hot water or a very severe sunburn are common instances of second-degree burns.

Description

Tap water scald injuries are the second most common cause of serious burn injuries in all age groups. Scald burns may be accidental or non-accidental, as in cases of child abuse, and often cover a large area of the body, leading to high rates of morbidity and mortality.

Scald injuries are especially likely to occur in certain populations, particularly children less than five years of age, adults more than 65 years of age, and persons with handicaps such as sensory neuropathies.

Each year, about 112,000 people are treated in hospital emergency rooms with scald burns, and about 6 percent of them are hospitalized. Many of the scaldings are a result of household water heaters being set at temperatures above 120 degrees F. About 80 percent of hot tap water burns are among young children, the elderly, and the physically impaired.

Water temperature may be kept high for a number of reasons. In institutional settings, a large volume of hot water may be required. For dishwasher use, water may need to be kept hot to improve solvent action. Another reason for keeping temperatures higher is prevention of bacterial overgrowth in the water supply. However, tap water delivered at 140 degrees F can cause a full-thickness burn in 10 seconds.

 

[usmctanker242]

None at all. I'm just trying to get my head around no charges to answer

The article in the OP wasn't really listing many facts, but lots of hearsay and conjecture. There's no evidence to back up any of these claims that they showered him in 180F water for 2 hours, in fact the MD doing the autopsy said there was no thermal injury at all. He didn't die from dehydration or asphyxia, but from a heart attack.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article139206653.html
Give this a read and you'll see that the "evidence" listed in the article given by OP is hearsay at best, and outright bullshit for the most part. How could any prosecutor take this to a court and press charges when there's zero evidence beyond the statement of a single inmate? Mind you, the autopsy report directly counters that inmates claims.

Who knows exactly what was going on, but what kind of a case could really be built here to charge anybody?