Missouri families of incarcerated seek answers after in-custody deaths

KANSAS CITY, Mo., – Missouri households of incarcerated people need what most individuals would need: to know that their beloved one is wholesome and secure. But, when an inmate dies, some households wrestle to determine how, when, why, and even the place their beloved one died, leaving households throughout the state grieving, stressed, and begging for solutions.

It wasn’t till Drawback Solvers bought concerned that a number of households discovered the heartbreaking fact about how their beloved one handed away whereas serving their sentence.

“It’s fairly unhealthy,” stated Teresa Capraro, whose former husband, Michael Capraro, died almost 5 years in the past. “I can’t discover closure to it as a result of it simply doesn’t seem to be he needs to be useless.”

The Households

Capraro stated she was not contacted by the jail or the Missouri Division of Corrections when Michael died. As an alternative, she discovered sooner or later when she referred to as the jail herself, hoping to talk with him.

“I bought the central workplace quantity and I referred to as and I talked to the woman there and she or he stated, ‘He handed,’ and I stated, ‘What?’ and she or he stated, ‘Sure, he handed,’ and I stated, ‘Effectively what occurred to him?’” Capraro stated. “She stated, ‘I can’t offer you that data.’ I stated, ‘The place’s his stuff? The place’s he buried?’”

“(They) couldn’t inform me nothing.”

Ultimately, she stated she was knowledgeable Michael had died in October 2018. Nevertheless, she stated she’s by no means seen his physique, nor obtained an post-mortem report or another details about his loss of life, regardless of quite a few requests.

He had no different dwelling kinfolk.

“Was he cremated?” Capraro stated. “I imply, I don’t know.”

“It’s upsetting.”

Sadly, conditions like Capraro’s usually are not uncommon. 

Dasha Goode Simpson, whose uncle, Damon Simpson, 44, died in January, stated she spoke to him only a week earlier than his loss of life. 

She stated she nonetheless doesn’t understand how her uncle died, and nobody at Algoa Correctional Middle in Jefferson Metropolis, the place he was incarcerated, will inform her.

“We simply wish to know what occurred to my uncle,” she stated.

Even her uncle’s brother and closest dwelling relative, Gerrel Simpson, can’t get solutions.

“I imply, it simply goes to indicate that it doesn’t matter what he did, he nonetheless had family members and, like I stated, anyone member of the family’s undergo these things, it doesn’t matter what cost they undergo, it doesn’t matter what they did, you continue to have the appropriate to know what occurred to them and to offer them a correct burial,” Gerrel stated.

Juanita Mason is one other Missouri resident ready for solutions. 

After her husband, Jerry Mason, died on the Western Missouri Correctional Facility this previous Christmas, she stated she obtained a field of his belongings from his cell, however nonetheless is aware of nothing about how he died.

“We had spoken to him at 9:35 Christmas night time and once they referred to as me at 1 a.m., they instructed me that they discovered him unresponsive at 10:06,” she stated.

Each time she calls the corrections division or jail, she says she receives the identical response: “‘Oh, we will’t let you know something. It’s underneath investigation.’

“Principally, they stated, ‘We are able to’t offer you any data as a result of that is all underneath investigation,’” she stated. “I stated, ‘’I’d prefer to understand how he was laying within the cell once you discovered him, what he was carrying and, you recognize, what was round him.”

“I would like any form of data to carry onto.’”

However Mason says she’s been met with silence.

Getting Solutions

Lori Curry, govt director of Missouri Jail Reform, stated she is commonly contacted by households annoyed that they’re being saved at nighttime about their family members’ loss of life behind bars.

“It’s the individual’s beloved one,” she stated. “Why can’t they learn how their beloved one died?”

She stated there’s numerous distrust between the corrections division and incarcerated people’ households, which ends up in the notion that the state is hiding one thing.

“You marvel if the rationale given for somebody passing away is the reality,” she stated. “You simply marvel why they’re refusing to offer data.”

Civil rights lawyer Jim Bruce stated households have the appropriate to know, however prisons have quite a bit to cover, particularly when it’s the jail who conducts the loss of life investigation. 

“You by no means wish to have a felony examine against the law,” he stated.

Sam Wendt, private damage lawyer and proprietor of Wendt Legislation Agency, stated households attempting to request data associated to their family members’ loss of life typically face a “paperwork nightmare.”

“Making the request for this data, there are web sites devoted to the method and manner by which you make the request, however typically there are supplies you obtain that, once more, are closely redacted or are incomplete not directly,” Wendt stated.

Drawback Solvers wished to assist a few of these households get solutions.

Below Missouri regulation, an post-mortem report is an open report, so Drawback Solvers requested the autospies of all three males: Michael Capraro, Damon Simpson, and Jerry Mason. What we discovered exposes the ugly underbelly of what goes on behind bars.

“We’re all human beings,” Wendt stated. “Folks make errors occasionally, unhealthy errors, however that doesn’t imply they’re past being redeemed.”

Digging for particulars

Michael Capraro’s post-mortem report reveals he didn’t die within the Western Missouri Correctional Middle, as beforehand disclosed to Teresa, however was killed by one other inmate on the Boonville Correctional Middle. His ex-wife says she didn’t even know that they had transferred him to a unique establishment, nor was she instructed that he died by murder. 

“It’s actual upsetting to know I’ll by no means see him once more,” she stated.

The Division of Corrections instructed Drawback Solvers that Michael’s attacker was later convicted of manslaughter, and paperwork confirmed Capraro’s cremains got to a Catholic church in Booneville, data that would have been shared with Teresa. Nevertheless, the church instructed the jail it will hold this data personal.

“It’s like they’re hiding from me or one thing,” Capraro stated.

Jerry Mason’s post-mortem reveals he died of a fentanyl overdose, one thing his spouse was shocked to find.

She needs to understand how that’s even attainable.

“He was speculated to be in a safe ambiance,” Juanita stated. “He was speculated to be monitored.”

Drawback Solvers has but to obtain Damon Simpson’s post-mortem as a result of his loss of life continues to be underneath investigation. Nevertheless, the jail gave his cremains to a girl listed as his emergency contact – a girl the household has by no means met.

She instructed Drawback Solvers she was Damon Simpson’s girlfriend, though she couldn’t keep in mind precisely how lengthy they’d been collectively.

“Now, if that was on him (Damon) to offer this feminine all this energy over him and to isolate his household, so be it,” Gerrel, his brother, stated. “Me and my household need solutions and we deserve solutions.”

For different households, an post-mortem is only the start of their seek for fact.

Wanda Parker’s son, Deilo Rogers, 31, died on the Farmington Correctional Middle final summer season, the place a health worker decided his loss of life was attributable to a drug overdose. Parker demanded to see her son’s physique, discovering indicators of bodily damage and trauma.

“After I seen my son’s physique, he had two black eyes,” she stated. “He had bruising on his brow and likewise on the aspect of his neck and so, um, it didn’t appear to be a drug overdose.”

She stated she paid for a second personal post-mortem, and the outcomes have been alarmingly completely different.

“There wasn’t sufficient medication in his system,” Parker stated. “It was asphyxiation and that he was assaulted previous to passing away.”

She contacted the jail to inform them, however stated no person appeared to care.

“I deserve solutions,” she stated. “I really feel like I’m getting nowhere with them.”

This pushed Parker to rent an lawyer, in addition to enlisting the assistance of State Rep. Kimberly Ann-Collins, whose personal father died in jail. 

Collins stated she is aware of precisely how troublesome it may be to get solutions from the Missouri jail system, the place each overdoses and deaths are on the rise.

“They discover all types of excuses,” Collins stated.

Collins launched laws, Home Invoice 1922, to create a bipartisan fee to supervise the DOC and its investigations.

“There may be simply an excessive amount of within the DOC that’s not getting sufficient consideration,” she stated.

Collins’ invoice didn’t even get heard in committee till April, which means possibilities of it passing the legislature are slim except she’s in a position to tack it on as an modification to a different piece of laws.

In the meantime, households just like the Simpsons hold ready and hoping for solutions.

“What occurred?” Gerrel stated. “That’s what I wish to know.”

“That’s what she (Dasha) needs to know. All people deserves to know.”

The Division of Corrections stated the loss of life charge in jail is much decrease than exterior of jail, and insists it isn’t hiding data, however ensuring investigations are accomplished earlier than releasing data.

The division additionally stated households having bother getting solutions ought to contact the Workplace of Constituent Companies.

“I simply really feel like they anticipated us simply to let it go, seeing as how he was in jail and why he was in jail, and that’s simply not the case,” Dasha stated. “Everybody nonetheless loves their family members who’s in jail, you recognize, and I simply don’t really feel prefer it was proper that they couldn’t simply no less than inform us one thing or talk with us one thing.”