Human rights organizations are calling for a federal investigation into the death of Darren Rainey, who was allegedly locked in a shower so hot it stripped the skin from his body
On the night of June 23, 2012, 50-year-old Darren Rainey, a mentally ill inmate at Florida’s Dade Correctional Institution, was allegedly taken from his cell and locked in a closet-size shower. Guards then turned up the water to 180 degrees and walked away. Two hours later, he was dead; large swathes of skin had peeled from his body because of the intense heat. When he was finally taken to the infirmary, his internal temperature was so high that it couldn’t be measured by a thermometer.
Not only is this sick, and horrible, but how is the water heat in the prison showers THAT hot. In cool weather I like REALLY hot showers. In hot weather I like my showers cold. No matter the season the WORST shower is a tepid one. Why would we pay MONEY to heat water that hot for prison showers. The heat on max should just be warm enough to be comfortable, it’s cost-effective, it’s safe, it’s humane, but there is no luxury.
Also I’ll have to add that the departed was serving a deuce for drug possession. So not only is this not a “Gun Death” but it is also a death from the War on Drugs.
H/T Wallphone
Some perspective:
212 — Boiling point of water at sea level atmospheric pressure.
180 — Typical hot water (non-steam) for radiator-based industrial heating.
154 — Instantaneous first degree burn injury, one second to second degree burn injury.
150 — One second to first degree burn, two seconds to second degree.
130 — Potential damage to plastic radiant heat floor pipe. 5 seconds to 1st degree burn 25 to second degree burn.
120 — Maximum recommended residental hot water temp. 3 minutes to 1st degree burn, 9 minutes to second degree burn.
116 — Typical human pain threashold.
110 — Normal hot shower.
Imagine an America without restrictive gun or drug laws. Libertarian fantasy? Nope. Constitutional America circa 1890. We sure as heck wouldn’t have people incarcerated and scalded to death for possession of a drug. (BTW-in that same libertarian America, I’m FOR penalties for gun and drug misconduct. Disorderly conduct, public intoxication, corruption of minors with drugs, reckless brandishing of a firearm, etc.)
I’ve been in barracks that ran the showers that hot. I’ve made very good tea and coffe from the tap in the latrine — and not instant tea and coffee.
I think it is related to places that (as stated above) run industrial hot water heat fro climate control — the tanks crank to 180F and stay there.
However, for safety reasons, I would no more allow the prisoners acceess to water that hot, because it is (as illustrated) a WEAPON at those temps.