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Fla. DOC reforms in wake of mentally ill inmate’s scalding death

Plans will be outlined by DOC Chief Mike Crews during a news conference at the Everglades Correctional Institution

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A prisoner works on the lawn at the Dade Correctional Institution on Thursday, July 10, 2014, in Florida City, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

By C1 Staff

MIAMI, Fla. — New reforms for the state’s Department of Corrections are in the works, after a mentally ill inmate died when he was left in a scalding hot shower at the Date Correctional Institution.

CBS News reports that the plans will be outlined by DOC Chief Mike Crews during a news conference at the Everglades Correctional Institution.

Some of the policies to be implemented include specialized reentry centers for inmates who suffer from mental illness, expanded intervention training for corrections officers “so they don’t unintentionally escalate an incident or hurt an individual,” and create a “transparency database” for disseminating information on inmates who die in the custody of the department.

The policy changes stem from the death of Darren Rainey, who died in June 2012 after being left in a small shower stall for almost two hours after being placed there by officers as punishment for allegedly defecating in his cell and smearing feces all over himself.