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New Jersey Jail Detainee Dies While Reportedly Begging for Water
by Douglas Ankney
Forty-one-year-old Atlantic County jail detainee Mario Terruso, Jr. died after coughing up blood and begging for water, according to a report in nj.com in September 2019.
Alan Wright, who knew Terruso for about 15 years, was working as a jail runner delivering food trays and cleaning carts when he saw Terruso in the admissions area.
Wright said Terruso was sweating profusely and “heaving every 30 to 60 seconds” while begging two nurses for water. The nurses were laughing and accusing Terruso of feigning illness in order to be taken to the hospital, the story said. One of the nurses asked Wright if Terruso “acts like that on the street.” According to Wright, Terruso went about an hour without receiving medical attention.
Then Terruso was suddenly placed into an ambulance. After learning that Terruso had died at the AtlanticCare Regional Medical Center around 1 a.m., Wright contacted his wife to post what he’d witnessed on Facebook. Wright also stated he heard jail guards bragging afterward that they had repeatedly punched Terruso in the face.
Wright was later contacted by the Office of the Attorney General. A spokesman from that office confirmed that the death was being investigated but no disciplinary action was imposed against jail personnel. Terruso was taken to the jail due to failure to appear in court on a family matter.
Source: nj.com
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More from this issue:
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- Rappers Jay-Z and Yo Gatti Help Prisoners in Mississippi Sue State Over “Inhumane and Unconstitutional Conditions”, by Bill Barton
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Florida’s Refusal to Release Prisoners During COVID-19 Resulting in Death Sentences, by David Reutter
- Prison Postcards: A Plea from Kentucky and Dispatches from Texas and Massachusetts, by Ken Silverstein
- Unlike U.S., Many Governments Releasing Large Numbers of Prisoners to Reduce Threat of COVID-19, by Matthew Clarke
- Status of the Pandemic Heading into Summer, by Michael D. Cohen, MD
- COVID-19 Pandemic Leads to Unrest in Prisons Around the Globe, by Matthew Clarke
- $1 Million Payout to Family of Man Who Died After Seizures in Montana Jail, by Kevin Bliss
- Florida Guards and Prisoners Fear COVID-19 Infection, by David Reutter
- COVID-19 and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, by Edward Lyon
- The Popularity of YouTube Prison Lifestyle Videos, by Anthony Accurso
- Sixth Circuit Vacates Preliminary Injunction Regarding Elkton Prisoner Class Action, by Derek Gilna
- Man Sentenced to One Year For Shoplifting Dies In Prison During Pandemic, by Anthony Accurso
- L.A. County Sheriff Says Prisoners Intentionally Tried to Catch Coronavirus to Get Released, by Dale Chappell
- Secret BOP Document Raises Risk Factors, Security Levels of Prisoners
- New York District Court Judge Denies Preliminary Injunction Against MCC Brooklyn, by Derek Gilna
- Who’s in SHU? A Survey of Solitary Confinement, by Terry A Kupers
- Reports: COVID-19 More Prevalent Than Reported in Nation’s Prisons and Jails, by Kevin Bliss
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- Sale of Clandestine Surveillance Equipment Available to the Government and “Select Clients”, by Kevin Bliss
- ACLU Files Lawsuit Against CoreCivic Prison in Arizona over COVID-19 Failures, by Dale Chappell
- Michigan Prisoner’s Whistleblowing on GED Test Cheating Survives Summary Judgment, by David Reutter
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- Orleans Parish Sheriff, Wellpath, Sued Over Louisiana Jail Prisoner’s Fatal Overdose, by Matthew Clarke
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- News in Brief
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- Georgia Supreme Court Announces Overruling Longstanding Rule That Anything Filed by Defendant While Represented by Counsel Is Always a ‘Legal Nullity’, June 15, 2023
- Fourth Circuit: Denial of Motion for Compassionate Release Abuse of Discretion Where District Court Failed to Properly Address Numerous Health Issues, Advanced Age, and Relevant § 3553(a) Factors, June 15, 2023
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- First Circuit: Plain Error Where District Court Based Upward Variant From Sentencing Guidelines Range on New Information Not Already in the Record at the Time of Sentencing, June 15, 2023
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