Female inmate dies after being found ‘unresponsive’ at ACI

CRANSTON, R.I. (WLNE) — A second inmate at the Adult Correctional Institutions has died over the weekend.

Public Information Officer J.R. Ventura said the Rhode Island Department of Corrections said that staff checked on a female inmate around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday after being committed “a few hours” earlier.

RIDOC said that officers found no response from the inmate and began life-saving steps.

The inmate was brought to Kent Hospital with “very faint vital signs” and later died.

The incident is under investigation by RIDOC and the state police.

A male inmate died at the maximum security facility on Friday after collapsing.

Direct Action for Rights and Equality released the following statement after the news of both deaths:

This is the fourth known death this year and there were seven known deaths last year. Recent scenarios seem suspicious and some seem to stem from untimely and improper medical care. For there to be this many deaths so early in the year, why hasn’t an external investigation into the [Rhode Island Brotherhood of Correctional Officers] and RIDOC been called for by Gov. McKee? And for the ACI to continue with business as usual, shows an insensitivity to the matter. How many of us have to die before something is done about this? As the family, friends, community and citizens of Rhode Island we are blind to what goes on behind bars and this is why we need external oversight at the ACI.