Death of prison inmate at issue

Evidence to be heard in case of man who died after being pepper-sprayed.

SACRAMENTO — A federal judge Thursday agreed to hear evidence in the death of a California prison inmate who, while on suicide watch, was pepper-sprayed by guards because he refused to remove his hands from his cell door.

The inmate relied on a breathing tube, which he removed after being sprayed, and he died about eight hours later in what was ruled a suicide, a coroner’s report shows. The man’s parents have accused prison officials of attempting a cover-up in the case, an allegation California prison officials adamantly deny.

Joseph Duran, 35, died Sept. 7, two days after arriving at Mule Creek State Pris- on. His death occurred shortly before U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton held hearings on California’s use of pepper spray on mentally ill inmates.

According to family members and court records filed by the state, Duran was on suicide watch in a prison psychiatric unit when he disobeyed orders to remove his hands from a food slot in his door. Guards then sprayed him.

A report from the Amador County coroner’s office said Duran was found dead in his cell without his breathing tube in place.

The coroner’s office determined Duran’s death a suicide, saying he died by asphyxiation.

The corrections department in legal filings contends that “the connection between [Duran’s] exposure to pepper spray and his death is speculative.”

State lawyers said in court papers that the death initially was investigated as a suicide, but that two doctors who reviewed the case file for the corrections department considered it to be accidental.

Lawyers representing state prison inmates say officials hid the case from them during the pepperspray hearings, while presenting experts who testified that pepper spray causes no lasting physical harm and is safer than other methods to control unruly prisoners.

The lawyers and Duran’s family say they did not become aware of Duran’s death until January, when they were contacted by reporters for the Sacramento Bee inquiring about the case. The department contends the prison tried to con- tact Duran’s parents but the numbers it had on file were no longer in use.

Lawyers for the state told Karlton on Thursday they were willing to discuss details of Duran’s death privately, and brought California’s top prison officials with them to court.

“The department has taken this inmate’s death extremely seriously from the beginning,” said Deputy Atty. Gen. Patrick McKinney.

Karlton refused the offer and advised McKinney to take the corrections department’s explanations “with caution.”

Karlton has allowed 30 days for lawyers who represent about 33,000 mentally ill prisoners in California to gather information on Duran’s death.