LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A prison doctor has been fired and two other staffers are in the midst of being dismissed after an inmate at the Kentucky State Penitentiary starved himself to death, a case that has exposed lapses in medical treatment and in how hunger strikes are handled at the facility. Prison officials have asked prosecutors to investigate after The Associated Press began asking questions about the inmate’s death.
James Kenneth Embry, 57 and with just three years left on a nine-year sentence for drug offenses, began to spiral out of control in the spring of 2013 after he stopped taking anti-anxiety medication. Seven months later, in December, after weeks of erratic behavior - from telling prison staff he felt anxious and paranoid to banging his head on his cell door - Embry eventually refused most of his meals. By the time of his death in January of this year, he had shed more than 30 pounds on his 6-foot frame and died weighing just 138 pounds, according to documents reviewed by the AP.
An internal investigation determined that medical personnel failed to provide him medication that may have kept his suicidal thoughts at bay and didn’t take steps to check on him as his condition worsened. The internal review of Embry’s death also exposed broader problems involving the treatment of inmates - including a failure to regularly check inmates on medical rounds and communication lapses among medical staff.
The AP, tipped off to Embry’s death, obtained scores of documents under Kentucky’s Open Records Act, including a report detailing the investigation into Embry’s death, an autopsy report and personnel files. Along with interviews with corrections officials and correspondence with inmates, the documents describe Embry’s increasingly paranoid behavior until his death and the numerous opportunities for various prison staff to have intervened.
“It’s just very, very, very disturbing,” said Greg Belzley, a Louisville, Ky.-based attorney who specializes in inmate rights litigation and reviewed some of the documents obtained by the AP. “How do you just watch a man starve to death?”
According to the report of the internal investigation, Embry stopped taking medications for anxiety in May 2013. Seven months later, he told the lead prison psychologist, Jean Hinkebein, on Dec. 3 that he felt anxious and paranoid and wanted to restart those medications. But the psychologist concluded Embry didn’t have any significant mental health issues even though Embry repeatedly talked about wanting to hurt himself. Hinkebein and an associate considered his comments vague, and his request for medication was denied.
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - The death by starvation of a Kentucky prisoner has led the state to overhaul its protocol for dealing with hunger strikes.
The new guidelines dictate that:
- an inmate is considered on a hunger strike when he says he’s conducting one or stops eating and drinking for 72 hours.
- an inmate remains on hunger strike watch until otherwise determined by the medical director for the Kentucky Department of Corrections.
- the nurse administrator, the Department of Corrections medical director and the warden shall be notified of an inmate engaging in a hunger strike within 24 hours of the protest beginning.
- medical staff at the prison must interview the inmate and take a complete physical assessment of the person within 12 hours of notification of a hunger strike taking place.
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Kentucky State Penitentiary inmate James Kenneth Embry Jr. died Jan. 13 after a hunger strike in which he skipped 35 of 36 consecutive meals, lost 32 pounds in just a few weeks and repeatedly reported suicidal thoughts to prison officials. Embry never made clear what prompted him to stop eating, only telling prison officials he had nothing left to live for. Prison physician Steve Hiland was fired in March because of his actions surrounding Embry’s death; he denies doing anything wrong.
A timeline of the events leading up to Embry’s death at the maximum-security facility in Eddyville, Ky., based on interviews with Department of Corrections officials and public records obtained by The Associated Press:
- Nov. 29, 2013: Prison officials move Embry into segregated housing at the inmate’s request. Embry told officials he feared for his safety.
- Dec. 3, 2013: Embry meets with prison psychologist Dr. Jean Hinkebein. During the meeting, Embry asks to resume taking medications for his mental health and describes himself as anxious and paranoid. Hinkebein turns down the request and notes no significant mental health symptoms or problems.
- Dec. 7, 2013: Embry refuses breakfast and lunch, starting his refusal to take food over the next five weeks.
- Dec. 10, 2013: Embry is moved to an observation cell and tells Hinkebein, “I have nothing left to live for.” Hinkebein notes that Embry has no plan and only vague thoughts about harming himself.
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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell promotes his role in blocking higher taxes and protecting fishing rights in a TV campaign ad aimed at reinforcing his conservative credentials against his political newcomer opponent Matt Bevin, who is trying to win over Republicans by taking on the political establishment.
The 30-second ad debuting Monday across Kentucky calls McConnell a “genuine Kentucky workhorse” in touting the advantage of his incumbency in the primary against Bevin.
The message is backed by a “significant” six-figure ad buy amounting to one of the largest of the campaign by the five-term Republican, his campaign said. It comes less than a month before the Kentucky primary on May 20.
In another development, Bevin’s campaign underwent a late shake up with the departure of his main campaign spokeswoman, Rachel Semmel. The campaign said Semmel, who was hired by Bevin last year, decided to pursue another career opportunity and was no longer with the campaign.
“The Bevin campaign is grateful for all she did for the team and wishes Rachel the best in her future endeavors,” the campaign said.
Awaiting the GOP primary winner will likely be Alison Lundergan Grimes, the clear favorite in the Democratic Senate primary. Grimes, who is Kentucky’s secretary of state, hasn’t run her first TV ad of the campaign.
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