Nine community groups call for independent investigation of recent deaths at ACI

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Nine community organizations are calling for an independent investigation into four recent deaths at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston.

A letter was sent to Department of Corrections director Wayne Salisbury, Jr from Alliance to Mobilize Our Resistance (AMOR), the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, Amos House, Black Lives Matter RI PAC, Direct Action for Rights and Equality, The Just Criminal Justice Group, L.L.C., NAACP Providence Branch, OpenDoors and Stop Torture RI Coalition.

The letter reads in part:

Under the circumstances, we believe it is essential that prompt steps be taken by the Department to address this situation, with the goal of promoting greater transparency and accountability in the reporting and investigation of these deaths. Those steps include the establishment of an independent investigation into these deaths.

The letter can be red in its entirety here.

The group hopes that an independent investigation could establish “protocols that could help avert similar deaths in the future.”

ABC6 reached out for comment on this matter from the Rhode Island Department of Corrections.