Roylan Hern\u00e1ndez D\u00edaz\u2019s long journey ended in a white-walled cell in a Louisiana prison\u2019s solitary confinement wing. Near him were his last belongings: a tube of toothpaste, some disposable cups and a sheet of paper that explained how he could request his release from the immigration detention center. But he had already been denied his release three times.<\/p>\n
The Cuban had been placed in isolation six days earlier because he said he would refuse to eat to protest his arrest. The guards put him there even after the medical staff referred him to mental health treatment three times and documented an bowel disorder that caused him unbearable pain.<\/p>\n
For at least an hour before they discovered he had hanged himself, no one opened the door to check if he was alive.<\/p>\n
His death could have been prevented. Last October, an Associated Press<\/em> investigation into Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s death found that there was negligence and apparent violations of government policies by the guards of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) service, at a time when the detention of immigrants has reached record levels and new questions have arisen about the treatment that the U.S. government metes out to people seeking refuge.<\/p>\n Hallado muerto un cubano en una c\u00e1rcel de inmigraci\u00f3n en EEUU<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n