Darren Rainey

Darren Rainey, who had schizophrenia, died in 2012 while held at Dade Correctional Institution in Florida. Witnesses said officers left him locked in a shower with scalding water for nearly two hours, and that he screamed for mercy, while staff reports described a routine shower. The Miami-Dade medical examiner ruled the death an accident and cited heart disease, schizophrenia and confinement in the shower, and prosecutors declined to bring charges against the guards. Forensic pathologists hired by the Miami Herald say the photographs and autopsy show burns that do not match that finding. His family has pursued a civil suit against the state.

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 witnesses say officers locked him in a scalding shower for about two hours, and his family's lawsuit and forensic pathologists dispute the official account.

Reported by: Miami-Dade Medical Examiner (medical examiner or coroner); Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office (outside investigators); Inmate witnesses held at Dade Correctional Institution (witnesses); Rainey's family and their lawyers (family or their lawyers); Forensic pathologists hired by the Miami Herald (reporters).

Lawsuit: His family sued the State of Florida and others and settled for $4.5 million in 2018.

News reports (15)

• News report prisonlegalnews.org
• Inmate Mortality, archived data file Florida Department of Corrections, Inmate Mortality
• Dade Correctional back in spotlight after inmate strangling Corrections1, August 4, 2014
• DOC Launches Transparency Database Of Inmate Deaths CBS News, September 9, 2014
• The Witness: The Story & Case Of Inmate Harold Hempstead CBS News, January 19, 2016
• Rundle Won't Charge Prison Guards Who Allegedly Boiled Schizophrenic Black Man to Death (Updated) Miami New Times, March 17, 2017
• After Inmate With Schizophrenia Dies In Shower, Fla. Prosecutor Finds No Wrongdoing WUSF, March 19, 2017
• A Death in a Florida Prison Goes Unpunished The New Yorker, March 23, 2017
• Inmate death points to longstanding racial injustices: Column USA Today, March 23, 2017
• Officials Ruled Inmate's 'Boiling' Death An Accident. But Documents Show They Omitted Key Details. HuffPost, March 28, 2017
• Autopsy Photos Of Inmate Allegedly 'Boiled' To Death Raise Questions About State's Report HuffPost, August 4, 2017
• Inmate’s death continues to haunt Miami prosecutor The Appeal, August 7, 2017
• After Clearing Guards Accused of Killing Darren Rainey, Rundle Appointed to State Mental Illness Panel Miami New Times, September 21, 2017
• Examiner Who Said Rainey's Burned Body Showed No Trauma Got a Promotion and an Award Miami New Times, October 22, 2018