Darren Rainey
Darren Rainey, a man with schizophrenia, died on June 23, 2012, while held at Dade Correctional Institution, a Florida state prison. His older brother Andre said the two were close and had shared a house in east Tampa, and that he wants the people responsible to answer for what happened. Witnesses held at the prison said guards locked him in a shower with scalding water for about two hours while he screamed, and a nurse described severe burns on his body. The medical examiner ruled the death an accident linked to schizophrenia, heart disease and confinement in the shower, and the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office closed the investigation in 2017 without filing charges, but forensic pathologists hired by the Miami Herald and other reviewers dispute that finding. The family later settled a civil lawsuit against the state for $4.5 million, according to reporting in 2018.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed; neglect alleged). The medical examiner ruled the death an accident tied to schizophrenia, heart disease and confinement in the shower, but inmate witnesses say officers locked him in a scalding shower for about two hours, and his family's civil suit and outside pathologists dispute that finding; the family says staff ignored his mental illness and left him in the shower.
Reported by: Miami-Dade Medical Examiner (medical examiner or coroner); Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office (outside investigators); Inmate witnesses (witnesses); Darren Rainey's family (family or their lawyers); Miami Herald (reporters); Forensic pathologists hired by the Miami Herald (reporters).
Lawsuit: His family sued the State of Florida and others over his death and settled for $4.5 million in 2018.
News reports (12)
- News report
- Inmate Mortality, archived data file
- Dade Correctional back in spotlight after inmate strangling
- Rundle Won't Charge Prison Guards Who Allegedly Boiled Schizophrenic Black Man to Death (Updated)
- After Inmate With Schizophrenia Dies In Shower, Fla. Prosecutor Finds No Wrongdoing
- A Death in a Florida Prison Goes Unpunished
- Officials Ruled Inmate's 'Boiling' Death An Accident. But Documents Show They Omitted Key Details.
- Autopsy Photos Of Inmate Allegedly 'Boiled' To Death Raise Questions About State's Report
- Inmate’s death continues to haunt Miami prosecutor
- After Clearing Guards Accused of Killing Darren Rainey, Rundle Appointed to State Mental Illness Panel
- Examiner Who Said Rainey's Burned Body Showed No Trauma Got a Promotion and an Award