Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
10 Charged In Man's Asphyxiation Death At Va. Mental Health Facility
Reuters: Three Former Virginia Hospital Staff Charged With Murder In Death Of Black Man
Three former employees of a mental hospital in Virginia were arrested and charged with second-degree murder on Thursday, a prosecutor said, over the death of a Black man who was transported to the facility from jail earlier this month. Irvo Otieno, 28, died on March 6 as he was being admitted to Central State Hospital in the city of Petersburg, according to Dinwiddie County Commonwealth Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill. (Clifford and O'Brien, 3/16)
Axios: Irvo Otieno Death: 3 Virginia Hospital Workers Charged With Murder
Three hospital workers have been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Irvo Otieno, bringing the total to 10 people charged in the case, the Dinwiddie County Commonwealth's Attorney said Thursday. The three, who worked at Central State Hospital at the time of Otieno's death, were arrested Thursday after seven Sheriff's deputies arrested and charged earlier this week. (Habeshian, 3/16)
The Washington Post: Video Shows Deputies Smother Va. Man For 11 Minutes Before Death, Family Says
Relatives of Irvo N. Otieno on Thursday watched video of his “traumatic” death at Central State Hospital as a local prosecutor brought second-degree murder charges against three of the facility’s employees — on top of the seven sheriff’s deputies already charged in his death. “My son was treated like a dog, worse than a dog,” Otieno’s mother, Caroline Ouko, tearfully told reporters outside the Dinwiddie County Courthouse. ... Two lawyers for Otieno’s family, who watched the video with them, said the three hospital workers dressed in blue uniforms could be seen joining the deputies in brown — putting their weight on him as he lay prone on the hospital floor for 11 minutes, handcuffed, his feet shackled. They called on the Justice Department to investigate. (Vozzella and Rizzo, 3/16)
In other news about alleged medical negligence —
The Washington Post: Disabled Woman Starved To Death At Michigan Group Home, Family Says
Charlene Jones thought her aunt had been eating three meals a day. During her visits last year with Aunt Bertha, who was physically and developmentally disabled, Jones said, she had that noticed the 71-year-old looked more frail, her face sunken in. But the staff at Hoeft Home in Belleville, Mich., reassured Jones that her aunt was eating normally, she said. ... Bertha Jones died May 2, less than a month later, of protein-calorie malnutrition. (Somasundaram, 3/16)
