Teen who died pled for help in writing,Was in acute pain 3 days in lockup

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Wed, Sep. 10, 2003

Teen who died pled for help in writing
Was in acute pain 3 days in lockup
BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER
[e-mail]


A 17-year-old at the Miami-Dade juvenile lockup on battery charges made a written plea for help three days before he died in agony of a ruptured appendix.

''My stomach hurts really bad. I don't know what to do, and I can't sleep,'' Omar Paisley wrote June 7, in a previously undisclosed formal request for medical assistance. (snip)

(snip) Omar's death has sparked a state grand jury investigation and a series of hearings by Florida lawmakers.

The first hearing of the House Select Committee, which will be chaired by state Rep. Gustavo ''Gus'' Barreiro, R-Miami-Dade, convenes at 11 a.m. this morning in the Miami-Dade County Commission Chambers. (snip/...)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/6736093.htm

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

1. This kind of tragedy has been happening way to often lately...

What a comassionate country we live in. I'm sure if he was in a "faith based" lock-up things would have been different.

[Occulus]

2. I had appendicitis.

Had mine removed. Had I not, I'd be dead, and let me tell you all from personal experience, even the beginning pain had me doubled over into a ball on the floor.

This kid died in agony. I can think of few worse ways to go....

[NashVegas]

3. Murdered By Lack of Communication

How is it that we now have the ability to contact almost anyone, anywhere, anytime, but we can't fucking say what matters, when it matters?

Most of the entries in his medical record were made days after Omar died, meaning nurses starting a new shift at the lockup would have had no record of his condition or previous nursing care.

[sendero]

5. I think...

... that the idea that records can be entered "after the fact" should have never *been* acceptable and in this case practically screams coverup.

I hope there is some way that nurse can pay for her crime, perhaps stripped of her license.

[disgruntella]

4. someone's head better roll for this n/t

[Cocoa]

6. sounds like homicide

I hope all the people that called for the head of the "windshield killer" show up and express the same about the corrections officials that let this happen.

[TacticalPeek]

7. Sounds like someone needs to go to jail.

A chance to see what its like.

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. This happened in Orlando in a woman's facility.

May have happened twice. There must be something going on in our correctional facilities.

[bandy]

11. Yes, there is something going on...

correction facilities are PRIVATELY RUN, understaffed and underpaid and most staff could care less if someone dies. Just like the DCF. They don't give a rats a_ _. Here in Palm Beach Co. at a girls correctional center we had 3 girls arms broken by the staffs restraining methods in a matter of a few weeks.

[IMayBeWrongBut]

14. I know of one state that had the SWAT,

I know of one state that had the SWAT, ready(on the way) to go in and retake prisons from the corporations that refused to give them back to the state after mismanagment. Unfortunatly they backed down at the last moment from what whould have been a great PR victory against privatization of anything(SWAT teams having to confiscate a prison from an evil corporation).

[karlschneider]

9. Hm. His name was Omar? Very interesting.

:grr:

[Cheswick2.0]

10. This is so horrible, it takes my breath away

My God that poor kid. He may have been a hard case or not, we don't know. However no one should die like that in pain and fear.

[noonwitch]

12. This is really bad

When they use private agencies to treat delinquents, they really need to make sure that the agencies are good ones. I used to be a delinquency worker, and we had good places and bad places. The worst was the county-run youth home, the state facilities were much better, as were the private agencies the state contracted with at that time.

An example from the youth home, not from my load, but a coworker's:

A young cross-dresser was arrested and booked for shoplifting. Standard admitting procedure was to give the kid a physical exam, body search and have him change his clothes to the sweats/uniform prior to being brought to the unit he will be placed in until his hearing, for obvious security reasons. The staff had a problem with cross dressers and decided to teach him a lesson by marching him, in drag, through the residential units prior to the admitting process.
So, the kid got the you know what beat out of him later by the other kids.

[Porcupine]

13. This is NORMAL in U.S. jails. Medical neglect kills inmates daily....

I recently spent several months in the local county jail. During that time I saw three inmates with grossly infected abcesses in the teeth go without care for days. Of course I never saw more than 40 inmates while I was in there due to "pod" housing.

These were cases where the entire upper or lower jaw had swollen up due to a raging infection. Typically they could not get treatment for at least 24 hours after the condition became visible. They would call these complaints repeatedly to the guards attention and would be threatened with punishment if they continued to ask for medical care. These are infections that would normally get you immediate admission to a hospital for observation.

Inmates die in jails for lack of the most basic medical care. Antibiotics, insulin and treatment for shock are all delayed as long as possible by the staff. This is the NORM not the exception. The U.S. is a sad joke it really is.

[44wax]

15. It does not have to be like this

In my experience as a juvenile hall supervisor I found staff were often lazy, uncaring, and ignorant of their responsibility to uphold the rights of the human beings we were to detain and care for. It takes a strong dose of humility and/or professionalism to stay in the right frame of mind to take care of people accused of hideous crimes. Or hideous in the eyes of the seemingly vigilante assholes behind the badge who have assigned themselves judge, jury and...?

[ElsewheresDaughter]

16. poor bastard has the wrong name>>>Omar