Mentally-ill US inmate died of thirst

A mentally-ill inmate in the US state of North Carolina, who was held in solitary confinement for 35 days, died of dehydration, according to an autopsy report.

Michael Anthony Kerr, who had schizophrenia, died of thirst in the back of a van on March 12 while being transported from his prison to a mental hospital, public records released to The Associated Press on Thursday show.

Kerr, 54, was not receiving any treatment for his chronic mental illnesses from prison staff, according to the report.

“The nature of the dehydration, whether as a result of fluids being withheld, or the decedent’s refusal of fluids, or other possible factors, is unclear,” Dr. Susan E. Venuti of the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office wrote.

According to the AP, Kerr was placed in “administrative segregation” on February 5, which means an inmate is put in solitary confinement “to preserve order where other methods of control have failed.”

Later on February 25, Kerr was moved to “disciplinary segregation,” another form of solitary confinement where inmates are sometimes deprived of basic essentials, like a proper meal and a mattress.

Numerous studies have indicated that long-term isolation in prison cells can severely impact the mental well-being of inmates, especially the individuals already suffering from mental disorders.

Solitary confinement exploded in the US in the 1980s when many states built so-called “supermax” prisons for the “worst of the worst.”

Prisoners in solitary confinement are much likelier to commit suicide, suffer from depression, lack of energy, hallucination, and other ailments.

The prison population of the United States is by far the largest in the world. Just under one-quarter of the world’s prisoners are held in American prisons, according to a report published in May by the National Research Council.

AHT/HRJ