Public defender calling for investigation after jail deaths

Broward Public Defender Howard Finkelstein is calling for an investigation after two inmates were found dead and a third mutilated himself at the Broward Main Jail.

“I hereby demand that you immediately investigate the high number and frequency of deaths within the jails,” Finkelstein wrote in a letter Tuesday to Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony, whose office runs the jail.

Finkelstein cited the deaths of Craig Fahner, 41, and Joseph St. Fleur, 47, and the injury of a third defendant, whose name he did not use. He also referred to the recent case of another inmate who was “ignored and forced to give birth alone in her cell without any medical attention.”

Fahner was serving a sixmonth sentence for petty theft when he died June 1. His cries for help and medical attention were ignored, Finkelstein said.

St. Fleur was accused of armed robbery and had been deemed incompetent to stand trial. Broward Circuit Judge Bernard Bober had ordered his conditional release on May 1, but St. Fleur was still at the jail waiting for a hospital bed when he died June 7.

“It is highly suspect that two middle-aged men died unexpectedly in such a short period,” Finkelstein wrote.

The causes of death were not known. A phone call to the Broward Medical Examiner’s Office was not returned Tuesday.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office didn’t respond to a request for comment to Finkelstein’s letter.

The deaths come after it was revealed that a 32-year-old inmate cut off his own penis while in solitary confinement at the jail last year. He has since been transferred to a mental health facility.

And in April, a pregnant, mentally ill woman gave birth in a jail cell in an incident that also drew criticism from Finkelstein.

Wellpath, the company that provides inmate health care in Broward County, fired two employees over the incident and set

up corrective action plans for three others, according to a company spokeswoman. It is also providing additional training to all staff, focusing specifically on pregnant patients.

“As the person ultimately responsible for the medical and mental health care of the inmates in your custody, these incidents should sound an alarm,” Finkelstein wrote to Tony, who was installed as sheriff earlier this year.

Earlier this month, in response to the jail-birth case, the Sheriff’s Office said it was conducting its own internal affairs investigation. It also is conducting a thorough review of Wellpath’s policies and practices to see if there are deficiencies or areas needing improvement, spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said at the time.

“If the investigation reveals any neglect of care, individuals will be held accountable for their actions,” Coleman-Wright said earlier this month. Date: