Connecticut Inmate Found Dead After Hanging Himself With COVID-19 Mask

Source: Simon McGill / Getty

An inmate at a Connecticut prison hung himself earlier this week with the mask provided to him to help curb the possibility of contracting COVID-19.

According to reports from TMZ, 32-year-old Daniel Ocasio had been serving his sentence for a third-degree burglary charge at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center since August. In the early morning hours of August 12, he was found dead with his cloth mask tied around his neck

“The ligature was made from the cloth mask issued to the offender population to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus,” Andrius Banevicius, Connecticut Department of Correction spokesperson, said in a statement, according to reports from CNN. 

There were efforts to save his life at the prison, but unfortunately, Ocasio was pronounced dead after being transferred to a nearby hospital. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has ruled Ocasio’s death to be a suicide by hanging.

After this tragic turn of events, the DOC’s Security Division and the Connecticut State Police are currently conducting an investigation into his death.

As of now, the state’s DOC reports that over 1,300 Connecticut prison inmates have tested positive for COVID-19. At least seven of those inmates have died.

Hopefully prisons across the US can find safer ways to try and protect their inmates from the coronavirus.