An incarcerated man was killed by another inmate early Wednesday at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, days after arriving at the jail. The death is the second homicide since the start of the year at a Philadelphia Department of Prisons facility.
A correctional officer found the victim – a 28-year-old man whose name has not been released – lying on the floor of his cell at around 12:15 a.m., PDP officials said. Staff deployed medical assistance, but he died a short time later, according to the department.
“A preliminary examination of the decedent’s body indicates the trauma to his body is the result of a fight inside the cell,” PDP Communications Director John Mitchell said Wednesday in a statement.
Philadelphia police, in a description of the incident, characterized it as an assault and a homicide. A spokesperson for the Medical Examiner’s Office said an investigation into the inmate’s death is pending.
Both the victim and his cellmate, a 41-year-old man who has not been publicly identified, were taken into custody on Saturday, March 9, Mitchell said. The PDP, he added, is investigating the incident.
On Jan. 28, 59-year-old Mike Osborne was beaten to death by a younger cellmate at CFCF, officials said at the time.
The city’s jails have been dealing with a significant staffing shortage. PDP is also being monitored by a federal court as part of a settlement stemming from a class action lawsuit brought by inmates over prison conditions. A fourth report about how well the department is complying with the terms of that settlement is scheduled to be submitted by the end of the month.
