this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2024

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463

Man dies at 27 from heat exposure at a Georgia prison, lawsuit says (apnews.com)

submitted 4 months ago by girlfreddy@lemmy.ca to c/news@lemmy.world

41 comments fedilink hide all child comments

The Georgia sun scorched the slab of concrete beneath Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano’s body when nurses found him in a puddle of his own excrement, vomiting, according to a complaint.

Officers left Ramirez in an outdoor cell at Telfair State Prison on July 20, 2023, for five hours without water, shade or ice, even as the outside temperature climbed to 96 degrees by the afternoon, according to a lawsuit brought by his family. That evening, the complaint says, Ramirez died of heart and lung failure caused by heat exposure. He was 27.

Ramirez’s family, including his mother, Norma Bibiano, announced a lawsuit against the Georgia Department of Corrections on Thursday, alleging that officers’ negligent performance of their duties caused his death. The warden directed officers to check on inmates, bring them water and ice and limit their time outside, the complaint says.

The Department of Corrections reported that Ramirez died of natural causes, Jeff Filipovits, one of Norma Bibiano’s attorneys, said at a news conference in Decatur, a suburb of Atlanta.

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[–] Samvega@lemmy.blahaj.zone 80 points 4 months ago (1 children)

"Killing people is against the law, unless we do it."

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 26 points 4 months ago

They've always done it via capital punishment. They're just bringing death by slow torture back... and you can always get more slaves. There's still a drug war and there are still people of color.

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 44 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Georgia kills lots of poor people in prison. Heat, bedbugs, getting stabbed. Many don’t even have formal charges filed or a bond set.

It’s a red state, so nothing’s going to be done about it, except maybe move some toadies around.

[–] sparkle@lemm.ee 5 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I live in Georgia, can confirm. Don't go anywhere near the rural parts of this hellhole, especially if you're black or have some sort of other trait which southerners & conservatives discriminate against. Don't even think about taking weed with you in a car outside of Atlanta or Savannah. If you get arrested here, you're not going to be able to leave any time soon. And there's no laws which require compensating the wrongfully incarcerated or convicted.

If Georgia were a county, it would have the 4th highest incarceration rate in the world. Higher than El Salvador and Rwanda. The only ones that beat it are other US states (Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma).

I would also avoid Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. Not only because you might be wrongfully thrown in jail or prison, or get shot or something, but because those are just terrible places to exist in to begin with. At least Georgia has a decent amount of blue in it. Although our whitest counties bestowed upon the world Marjorie Taylor Greene and the guy who voted against making lynching a federal hate crime, so maybe it balances out. (this guy's political career has been CARTOONISHLY evil by the way, it's wild reading the Wikipedia article about him, I mean every red politician from Georgia is but it's still shocking actually reading what these people do)

[–] Pacattack57@lemmy.world 41 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Our prison system is simply a tool used by the elites of this country to propagate the enslavement of minorities.

[–] bamfic@lemmy.world 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

And execution, in this case

[–] sik0fewl@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 months ago

Let's not forget cruel and unusual punishment.

[–] militaryintelligence@lemmy.world 4 points 4 months ago

Also to 'keep them in their place'

[–] carbonari_sandwich@lemm.ee 36 points 4 months ago (2 children)

In Albany, Georgia on July 20th, 2023, the relative humidity at 94 F was 54%. As someone who's experienced dry heat vs humidity, I wanted to offer that context. Sweating just doesn't cool you down as the humidity rises.

[–] Notyou@sopuli.xyz 17 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I always heard the phrase "it's not the heat, it's the humidity" growing up when people complained about the heat. I thought it was annoying as hell to hear. I can feel the heat.

Then I lived in a place with dry heat. Holy fuck is it different. I can handle dry heat better. My electronics can't though.

[–] winkerjadams@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Wouldn't the humidity be worse for electronics though? Why is the dry heat bad for them?

[–] iMeddles@infosec.pub 12 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Dry air causes way more static electricity build up, which electronics really don't like having discharged into them

[–] winkerjadams@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 4 months ago

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks!

[–] Notyou@sopuli.xyz 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Honestly, I don't know why. I just know we had to replace our electronics more quickly than other places. Both my personal items and at my job.

I would assume what iMeddles said was correct. It makes sense to me.

[–] sopo@sopuli.xyz 5 points 4 months ago

The're right, another thing you notice in a dry house (like Swiss homes in winter pounding crazy heating) is that you can get even painful (to the hand) mini electric shocks just walking around with slippers/crocs and then touching the metal kitchen vent, chargers..unless you ground yourself once in a while. Never happens in a humid climate/house.

[–] EisFrei@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

https://youtube.com/shorts/a2l9a2hxIes

[–] tweeks@feddit.nl 28 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

96°F = 35.6°C

[+] Woht24@lemmy.world -40 points 4 months ago (2 children)

That's not even that hot, pretty wild you can die from whatever heat related issues he had in just 5 hours.

Pre-existing conditions maybe?

[–] whotookkarl@lemmy.world 36 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

35.6°C at 80% humidity feels like 59°C

The next four days are over 74-80% humidity max in Atlanta

If they're going to say it wasn't manslaughter I'd like to see the warden volunteer for the same 5 hour ordeal.

[–] GeorgeTheFourth@lemmy.world 27 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Go stand in that heat for 5 hours. Go ahead we will wait for you to report back on how easy it was to survive.

[–] Woht24@lemmy.world -2 points 4 months ago

I mean I have.. I've worked in that heat and hotter. You people are acting like no one has survived a single day in a desert?

[+] shikitohno@lemm.ee -19 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (3 children)

I mean, I've worked in agriculture pulling weeds in those temps and setting up irrigation lines. It was literally 30° F hotter in my job where I stand in front of the kitchen door a couple weeks ago. It's a far cry from comfortable, especially if you don't have access to water, but I can't imagine dying from it, absent some other health condition that was aggravated by it.

Also, just to be clear, I absolutely think it's abusive to leave an inmate in such conditions without access to water and shade, I'd just be surprised to hear it was fatal in an otherwise healthy young person.

[–] Daxtron2@startrek.website 18 points 4 months ago (1 children)

The heat of a concrete cell is entirely incomparable to a wet field.

[+] shikitohno@lemm.ee -18 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Lol, tell me you haven't worked in agriculture without saying it. These are not wet fields, it was drip lines strung over pots with a black plastic tarp laid out underneath, so you get to enjoy the heat being reflected back up to you. Yet another liberal on the internet that wants to speak on behalf of people whose experiences they have no frame of reference for.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 10 points 4 months ago (2 children)

But you can leave. That's a big difference between the two. If you feel bad, you can just sit down for a rest. I'm sure you got lunch too.

I don't know why you're trying to say your job was the same as a prison cell.

[–] Woht24@lemmy.world 0 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

We're simply talking about the heat being about to kill you, not the conditions it was endured in or what is right or wrong.

Like the guy you replied to, I think it's abusive to do that to an inmate. I'm just genuinely surprised 5 hours in the sun at 35° would kill you.

[+] shikitohno@lemm.ee -12 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Yes, clearly everyone is in a position to just walk off their job at any point in time, with no consequences for being unemployed.

I don't know why you're trying to say that the people who work these jobs, and largely live paycheck to paycheck, have the same sort of freedom as people who are financially stable. I was making my state's minimum wage at the time, which was entirely insufficient to pay for any decent standard of living. My co-workers who were undocumented were paid even less, had no recourse if they were fired for complaining about conditions or working "too slow" according the bosses, did not qualify for unemployment insurance and had a significantly harder time finding new work than I would. Just like the majority of people out working on farms in the US today. But yeah, let's pretend it's as simple as walking off the job if it's uncomfortable for everyone.

Your comments make it apparent that you've never worked these sorts of jobs or been in these sorts of conditions. What, you're going to just walk off the job because it sucks and become homeless when the weather and working conditions suck? Because that's the sort of choice that faces millions of people in the US today. It doesn't even need to be in agriculture, you can find similar conditions in so many non-unionized positions doing things like landscaping, manufacturing jobs, kitchen work, etc. Florida literally just passed a bill that removed employer responsibility for providing rest and water breaks based on heat stress during work being performed earlier this year.

But sure, everyone has several months' expenses in their bank accounts and work in a field where they can get another job from one day to the next...

[–] Djtecha@lemm.ee 8 points 4 months ago

What is the point you're even trying to make here? You worked a rough job vis a vi you can excuse this horrible tragedy caused by the state? Like really, what the fuck is your point bro?

[–] Daxtron2@startrek.website 0 points 4 months ago

I want you to stand in a hot concrete cell in direct sun and try and compare that to a field.

[–] Burn_The_Right@lemmy.world 13 points 4 months ago (1 children)

A person working in hot conditioms has the ability to back out and find AC and shade if they are starting to feel heat sick. A prisoner just suffers.

It amazes me how incapable of a little empathy some people are. What the fuck is wrong with people?

[+] shikitohno@lemm.ee -14 points 4 months ago (1 children)

A person working in hot conditioms has the ability to back out and find AC and shade if they are starting to feel heat sick.

Welcome to working in agriculture, where you don't get to do this, unless you can afford losing your job. Keep on telling me how it is in a job you've obviously never worked, though.

[–] Burn_The_Right@lemmy.world 11 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I'm just guessing it's a bit better to actually survive by walking off the job if needed than to just drop dead in a field. But, what do I know? I'm just a dumb heat stroke survivor from the south.

Maybe you're right. Maybe a prisoner dying in a concrete cell is the same thing as having a job outside. Thanks for the enlightened conservatism.

[–] militaryintelligence@lemmy.world 9 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Victim blaming

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 18 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I have a pet pig living in far better conditions.

[–] Crikeste@lemm.ee 7 points 4 months ago

I mean…. I think any pet is going to be treated FAR better than any inmate in the USA.

[–] myplacedk@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago

Those conditions would be illegal to put a pig in here.

[–] Djtecha@lemm.ee 14 points 4 months ago

So homicide then? Fuck this warden, should be behind bars.