Gov. Deval Patrick calls inmate’s death at Bridgewater ‘tragic’; says he’s looking for answers
Nearly five years after the death of a young mental health patient at Bridgewater State Hospital, Gov. Deval Patrick today made his first public comments on the case, calling the death of 23-year-old Joshua K. Messier “horrible’’ and “tragic.’’
Patrick also said the search for answers to the many questions surrounding Messier’s death is continuing. “There have been conflicting reviews within Corrections and I’m looking for some answers myself,’’ Patrick said during impromptu remarks to reporters in a State House hallway.
The Boston Sunday Globe reported that Messier, a paranoid schizophrenic, was killed after a psychotic episode when seven guards with no training in mental health disorders placed him in four-point restraints, binding his wrists and ankles to a small bed, then stood around idly as he died.
In a scene captured on surveillance video, two of the guards pressed down hard on Messier’s back, pressing his chest toward his knees, while Messier’s hands were cuffed behind his back. The maneuver, sometimes called “suitcasing,’’ is prohibited in state prisons because of the risk of suffocation.
A state medical examiner ruled Messier’s death a homicide but no one has been prosecuted or even punished.
And though Patrick said he respects Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz’s “prerogative’’ in deciding to drop a criminal investigation without presenting evidence to a grand jury, he declined to endorse Cruz’s decision.
“I’m not commenting on whether his decision was the right one or the wrong one,’’ Patrick said. “I have no control over that.’’
Patrick also said Messier’s death raises questions about the use of restraints in state prisons and suggested state officials may re-evaluate their role in correction policy.’’The whole question of the use of restraints is one that we’ve been working on, thinking about,’’ he said.
Despite its name, Bridgewater State Hospital is a medium-security prison that provides mental health treatment to mentally ill prison inmates and mental health patients. According to the Department of Correction, about 40 percent of the men admitted to Bridgewater are sent there for psychiatric evaluations, including evaluations to determine whether a defendant is competent to stand trial.
Messier was admitted to Bridgewater in 2009 for a psychiatric evaluation after staffers from the psychiatric unit at Harrington Memorial Hospital filed misdemeanor assault and battery charges against him.
Medical records reviewed by the Globe show that Messier was sometimes assaultive during psychotic states characterized by auditory and visual hallucination. His parents — Lisa Brown and Kevin Messier — have filed a civil lawsuit against nine guards, two nurses, Bridgewater State Hospital, and the Department of Correction.
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