A Baltimore man was left clinging to life after allegedly being beaten by a fellow correctional facility inmate and sustaining a devastating personal injury.
The man, 20, had been sentenced to a correctional facility in Cumberland, Maryland, after convictions on gun and drug distribution charges. Now, he is at a Baltimore hospital with a severe brain injury, according to a Maryland police spokesman. The man was found in his cell, unresponsive.
According to a facility representative, authorities believed they had their suspect almost right away. The man said he had no reason to believe it was anything other than one inmate beating another.
The man was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in critical condition. Although still a prisoner, his mother was allowed to visit him because his injuries were so severe. The man is not suspected to survive.
The family of the victim is questioning just how the incident occurred. Because of his injuries, which include a broken jaw and a boot print on his face, an inmate might not even have caused the man’s brain injury, they said. One family member noted that inmates do not wear boots, adding the injured man had no signs of defensive wounds and would have fought back if he was attacked by another inmate.
Authorities said the police investigation is continuing.
While the suspected inmate certainly could be to blame, the man’s large family needs to investigate the possibility of filing a lawsuit against the correctional facility. Their inaction and lack of supervision could have lead to the death of a young man who was near the end of his prison term. In any correctional facility, inmates have the right to safety.
