Family releases details about Missouri inmate who choked to death

The family of an inmate who died in a Missouri prison said the man was “brutally murdered” by members of the prison during a lawsuit.

Otel Moore Jr. Family filed a lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Corrections and the Jefferson City Correctional Facility following the death of a 38-year-old man in Jefferson City on December 8, 2023.

The family’s lawsuit says Moore Jr. was “brutally restrained and mummified” by the defendants, who were listed as members of the correctional center’s crisis response team.

He adds that “they ignored his struggle to breathe and allowed him to slowly and painfully suffocate.”

The lawsuit says a Black inmate was pepper-sprayed and shocked by the type of gloves used in correctional facilities by officers to help inmates follow the rules.

He was also reportedly immobilized and given a spit hood, which prevents spitting, as well as a helmet and leg restraints.

He was then allegedly locked in a restraint gurney and isolated in a small, enclosed space called a dry cell, the lawsuit adds.

He continues that Moore Jr. he repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe and accuses the defendants of ignoring his pleas.

The lawsuit says Moore Jr. “he was left to die alone in a cell, deprived of the basic dignity of medical care and human attention. Moore shouldn’t have died. He just needed someone to take care of him.”

It also alleges that Moore Jr.’s death was “not an isolated incident, but rather the result of a systematic pattern of coercion, brutality, intimidation, reckless disregard, and willful indifference that favored top officials of the Missouri Department of Corrections.”

The lawsuit says the events were recorded on video and “were witnessed by many.” The lawsuit was filed on October 24.

Video released by the family shows guards holding Moore Jr. by his arms as he kneels on the floor and lies face down.

They then tied his legs, covered his face and strapped him to a wheelchair. Moore Jr. he didn’t seem to be struggling with the guards.

Moore’s movements gradually slowed until he was frozen in place. 10 minutes later the nurse went to check on him and found him dead.

In a statement released by the Missouri Department of Corrections: the center reported that Moore Jr. he died “in a restraint system designed to prevent injury to himself and others.”

The department has reportedly stopped using the restraint system in which Moore has been held since his death.

In a June 2024 update, the correctional center announced that the Cole County prosecutor had filed criminal charges against five former corrections employees in connection with Moore’s death.

The report added that a total of ten people were involved in the incident and are allegedly no longer employed by the department or its contractors.

Moore was serving a 30-year sentence for second-degree domestic assault, possession of a controlled substance, two counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of armed criminal action and domestic violence against a male, according to a Missouri Department of Corrections report. an inmate or employee of the Department of Corrections.

Newsweek reached out to the Missouri Department of Corrections and one of the family’s attorneys for comment by email.

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