Miami Correctional Facility - The Death of An Inmate

The Death of An Inmate

The most newsworthy incident during the prison's eight-year history was the death of inmate Angel Oquendo #111368 . On December 4, 2002, Oquendo died after a fight with Miami prison officers. The Miami County "Rey" coroner ruled that Oquendo’s manner of death was homicide. He had requested medical treatment but was denied because he did not use correct protocol in seeking medical attention and his condition was ruled to be a non-emergency. Oquendo then refused the officers' instructions and became uncooperative as they tried to escort him back to his cell. The officers resorted to subduing Oquendo with pepper spray and then carrying him between them into the segregation unit. Oqueno died of suffocation after being placed in a cell by himself. Although Oquendo did have a lengthy list of medical conditions, the coroner ruled that his cause of death was suffocation during his restraint. After an investigation by the Indiana State Police, the Miami County Prosecutor determined that there had been no criminal intent by the prison staff and therefore no criminal action would be taken against the staff.