A second illegal immigrant has died in less than two months at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Louisiana where a recent inspection report found insanitary conditions, problems with medical care, and the use of excessive force.
Details of the Death
Mamuka Artmeladze, a 43-year-old from the country of Georgia, was found unresponsive on June 4 at Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana. ICE announced that staff began lifesaving measures before he was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where a doctor pronounced him dead less than an hour later.
Artmeladze had been detained at the facility for nearly four months. The facility holds more than 1,500 male detainees, and like the majority of them, Artmeladze did not have a criminal record. He entered the country illegally and was arrested in Alabama in February after ICE determined he no longer had lawful status to remain in the U.S.
Previous Death at the Facility
He is the 19th detainee who has died in ICE custody since January 1 and the second at Winn since April 11. A coroner’s report showed that 49-year-old Alejandro Cabrera Clemente was found unresponsive during a security check and died from natural causes due to cardiovascular disease.
The deaths come amid mounting scrutiny over whether ICE detention facilities are medically neglecting detainees and forcing them to live in inhumane conditions, charges that ICE denies.
A separate ICE report on Cabrera’s death said detainees alerted nearby nursing staff to his unresponsiveness, and they found him with symptoms of low blood oxygen. Cabrera received treatment for high blood pressure and other medical problems during his months of detention.
Inspection Report Findings
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General issued a report that said an unannounced inspection at Winn found violations of standards governing environmental health and safety, food service, use-of-force, medical care, and other subjects.
The report described water leaking through vents in the kitchen, holes and exposed insulation in the intake building’s ceiling, and food stored in freezers above required temperatures. Medical staff at Winn failed to keep updated treatment documents and laboratory testing records, which could negatively impact detainee health care and safety.
The inspection also found violations of use-of-force policies, including an officer who put a detainee in a banned chokehold and a second officer who stabbed a detainee’s thumb with a pen after the detainee refused to remove his hand from a door.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
