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Vol. 80/No. 4      February 1, 2016

 
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Calif. family fights for-profit jail
medical services that let son die

 
BY ERIC SIMPSON
OAKLAND, Calif. — The family of Mario Martinez, who died from medical neglect in Alameda County’s Santa Rita Jail July 15, is leading a campaign to get Corizon, the for-profit private prison health provider, out of the jail.

Martinez, 29, died during an asthma attack complicated by nasal polyps that obstructed his breathing. “What happened to my son was totally preventable,” his mother Tanti Martinez told the Militant Dec. 16.

Corizon reports it has operations in 27 states across the country, raking in $1.5 billion annually.

Martinez rang an emergency call button, telling the prison guard, “I can’t breathe.” The guard refused first aid. When emergency medical personnel arrived on the scene 30 minutes later, he was dead.

“He left my son there unassisted, they never gave him oxygen,” Tanti Martinez said. “The guard made my son die.”

First examined at the Corizon-run jail clinic for breathing difficulty in December 2014, Martinez’s condition worsened as he sat in jail awaiting trial. His defense attorney Timothy Rien won three court orders to force the county to send him to a specialist. Instead, Corizon doctors fought the orders and overruled referrals, giving Martinez an ineffective nasal spray and decongestants.

He was finally sent to the county hospital in June and diagnosed with a complete breathing obstruction. A CT scan and surgery were scheduled, but he died first. “I think they were trying to save a buck,” Tanti Martinez said. “To me, they don’t care about a person’s life.”

No disciplinary action was carried out against jail or Corizon personnel and the case is closed, according to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.

Supporters of the effort to expose the criminal neglect that led to Martinez’s death have organized street protests outside county offices and Corizon headquarters. The family filed a wrongful death suit against Alameda County.

“I’m an electrician working for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 595. In our brotherhood, if I see a brother fall down or get hurt, I have to help him. If not, I get kicked out,” Mario’s brother, David Martinez, said Dec. 16 at a public meeting of an ad-hoc public safety relations committee set up by county supervisors. The meeting was attended by representatives of the District Attorney’s Office and the Sheriff’s department.

“What makes Corizon different than us? They basically gave the judge the finger three times,” David Martinez said. “My brother died and you guys are going to keep them in business? All you guys are guilty.”

County Sheriff and Coroner Gregory Ahern recommended Alameda County renew its $237 million contract with Corizon, and the supervisors did so without discussion.

“The reason we are here is not just for my nephew Mario,” Sheri Costel said at the meeting, “but so it doesn’t ever happen again.”

The Alameda Labor Council has joined the campaign against Corizon, calling for a full investigation into Martinez’s death and for suspension of the sheriff’s deputies who denied him medical aid.

In February 2015 the company and the county were forced to pay $8.3 million to the family of Martin Harrison, who was killed in Santa Rita Jail in 2010. He died when 10 deputies beat, kicked and used Tasers against him while he was suffering severe alcoholic withdrawal and hallucinations.  
 
 
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