A questionable demise?

December 2, 2003 12:04 AM

Kenneth Michael Trentadue was found dead in his cell in 1995, and ruled a suicide despite sloppy handling of evidence and other eyebrow-raisers. DOJ's Civil Rights Division punted in 1997, and it was again ruled suicide in 1999 by their Office of the Inspector General. Last week, an AP story said the DOJ's Public Integrity Section would be taking the matter up yet again. While there are plenty of fringe sources in a google search on his full name, there seems to be enough in the mainstream to support the notion that something doesn't add up.
posted by trondant (5 comments total)

who is he? why was he in prison? why are most of these links non-informative?
posted by quonsar at 12:31 AM on December 2, 2003

After Trentadue's body was found, with his face bloodied and bruised and his throat cut, prison officials concluded he hanged himself.

Case closed.
posted by eddydamascene at 12:34 AM on December 2, 2003

It doesn't seem so strange to me that the government doesn't want to consider the case of an inmate killed by another inmate. It would raise the issue of correctional facilities being inadequately protective of prisoners and perhaps even inspire calls to reform. In our tough-on-crime political climate, the politicians certainly would not want to go down that path. The former governor of Illinois, Jim Ryan, was able to get away with a death-penalty moratorium because his administration was already ruined by a corruption scandal and he had nothing to lose. But judging from the Willie Horton ad ruining Dukakis in 98, no modern-day politician would dare bring up "prisoner rights." Clinton certainly didn't dare speak out against the death penalty; there was a case of a retarded man set to be executed in Arkansas while he was governor and he signed off on it.
posted by gregb1007 at 12:44 AM on December 2, 2003

no. what seems strange is that it doesn't seem so strange to people. get it now?
posted by quonsar at 1:43 AM on December 2, 2003

in nys last spring a woman who was incarcerated 'committed suicide' approximately 45 minutes after engaging in sexual intercourse with a man.

(read: was raped and murdered by a guard)
posted by goneill at 8:25 AM on December 2, 2003