The death of a Cook County Jail inmate last fall is raising questions about whether staff could have done more to save him after the medical examiner’s office ruled his death a homicide.
Martinez Duncan, 24, died on the evening of Nov. 20 after his cellmate started a fire inside their locked cell according to a Cook County sheriff’s office spokesperson.
A preliminary review found the fire was caused by a lit wick, or “a smoldering portion of tightly wound toilet paper commonly used to smoke illegal drugs,” the sheriff’s office said.
Duncan and his cellmate were removed from their cell as jail staff attempted to put out the fire, the spokesperson said in a statement. They were then cuffed and taken to a holding area to receive medical care. After that, the staff left the holding area to tend to the fire.
In the meantime, “Duncan’s body slumped forward in the holding area and remained in that position until correctional staff and medical staff returned,” the spokesperson said.
Duncan was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
In recently released findings, the medical examiner’s office listed the cause of Duncan’s death as cardiac arrest “during physical struggle with restraint.” Smoke inhalation, atherosclerosis and obesity were listed as secondary contributing factors.
It’s unclear how long the fire was burning in the cell before Duncan and his cellmate were removed.
Duncan’s death was one of nine recorded at the jail last year, according to the sheriff’s office. Of the remaining eight, two deaths were ruled suicides, and two were determined to be from natural causes. The cause and manner of death of the other four are pending the completion of autopsies.
Matthew McLoughlin of the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice said he wasn’t surprised to hear about the details of Duncan’s case.
“Deaths in Cook County Jail have been all too common over the last decade,” he said.
He added that many of them are a result of inadequate supervision and medical care.
“We are incredibly concerned that the Cook County sheriff’s office has made clear that they are unable to keep people that are in their custody safe,” McLoughlin said.
A homicide ruling by the medical examiner indicates that another person caused Duncan’s death, but it does not imply that a criminal act took place.
The Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force is investigating Duncan’s death for any potential criminal behavior by staff, according to the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office custodial investigations unit and the sheriff’s office of professional review are also conducting their own investigations.
But McLoughlin said he’s not confident that the investigations will deliver justice.
“Speaking to the volume of instances where these deaths have happened, people have not been brought to justice, and there haven’t been fundamental changes made over at the jail to prevent deaths like these,” McLoughlin said.
The sheriff’s office plans to pursue criminal charges against Duncan’s cellmate, who the spokesperson said has admitted to starting the fire.