WILMINGTON, Del. (AP/WBOC)- A lawyer suing Delaware prison officials says ongoing abuse and neglect is to blame for the recent deaths of two inmates who witnessed a deadly prison riot last year.
Stephen Hampton says the Delaware Department of Correction's disregard for inmate health issues led to the deaths of two riot-related inmates since October.
Hampton recently released a report detailing "ubiquitous torture" of some inmates, especially those housed where the February 2017 deadly riot at the maximum-security James T. Vaughn Correctional Center happened.
Prison officials say foul play was not suspected in the deaths of 49-year-old Luis Cabrera 30-year-old Kelly Gibbs. Authorities have not said how they died.
Cabrera was a potential witness in the first of several trials for 17 inmates charged in the early February 2017 riot during which correctional officer Lt. Steven Floyd was killed and three other staffers taken hostage. Sixteen of the inmates are charged with murder in Floyd's death.
Gibbs was serving a 24-year, nine-month sentence for multiple charges, including second-degree murder. He was sentenced in 2008. Last week, authorities say Gibbs pleaded guilty to charges of riot, kidnapping and conspiracy related to the riot. He had not yet been sentenced.
The DOC declined to comment on Hampton's allegations, citing pending litigation. The prison's health care system also declined to comment.