Jean Jimenez-Joseph
Jean Jimenez-Joseph, 27, was held in ICE custody at the Stewart Detention Center, a privately operated facility in Lumpkin, Georgia. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that he had a history of mental illness and had been placed on suicide watch. ICE said staff found him in his cell with a sheet around his neck during a scheduled check shortly after midnight on May 15, 2017, and that he was pronounced dead at a hospital in Americus; the agency said the preliminary cause was self-inflicted strangulation. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said it found no foul play, but its review of video showed that detention officers missed required cell checks in the hours before he was found, and that one officer logged visits that never happened. His family's attorney says the missed checks may have made the death preventable.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (neglect alleged). The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says he hanged himself and found no foul play, but its review of video shows detention officers missed required cell checks before he was found, and the family's attorney says those missed checks may have made the death preventable.
Reported by: Georgia Bureau of Investigation (outside investigators); U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (the agency that held him); Project South and University of Pennsylvania Law School Transnational Legal Clinic (advocates); reporters.