Indiana inmate beaten to death inside federal lockup

The killing of an inmate who was beaten to death at a federal lockup in Indiana is under investigation by the FBI, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press about an attack that revives questions about safety in the beleaguered federal prison system.

An autopsy determined the May death of Jose Nieves-Galarza, 59, was caused by “bluntforce injuries” that caused him to bleed to death in his cell. The fatal beating was not publicly disclosed by prison officials and has not previously been reported.

The blows nearly ruptured the man’s aorta and were “most likely inflicted” by someone’s foot, according to an autopsy report obtained by the AP.

Nieves-Galarza’s death, ruled a homicide, came just months before he was scheduled to be released from the FCI Terre Haute, where he was serving a seven-year sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He had several prior convictions for robbery in New York and had been sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act.

The fatal beating is at least the third killing inside a federal prison since December. In March, the AP reported a 31-year-old inmate had been fatally beaten at USP Thomson, a highsecurity federal penitentiary in Illinois. Another inmate died following a knife attack at the federal lockup in Chicago in December.

The killings are among the latest security issues for the federal Bureau of Prisons, which has been plagued by chronic violence, serious misconduct and persistent staffing shortages as it also attempts to contain the spread of the coronavirus among its facilities.

FCI Terre Haute, where Nieves-Galarza

had been held since late 2018, currently has 10 inmates and two staff members who have tested positive for COVID19, according to the BOP. The medium-security lockup is in the same prison complex that houses federal death row inmates.

The BOP made no mention of jailhouse violence in a May news release that said Nieves-Galarza had been found “unresponsive” and that his death did not appear to be related to the coronavirus.

The autopsy report, however, says Nieves-Galarza had been “involved in an altercation with another inmate approximately one hour earlier, but had not complained.” It determined that “altercation injuries” were responsible for his death.

The BOP did not respond to questions from the AP about Nieves-Galarza’s death, including whether any staff or inmates have been disciplined.