Prisoner Wrongly Held Found Dead in Cell: What We Know

A man, detained after an administrative “error” has died at the Meaux-Chauconin penitentiary (Seine-et-Marne). The defendant had been returned to his cell after his hearing, even though his conviction did not mention any arrest warrant.

It is a death at the heart of all questions. A 51-year-old man died on Saturday in his cell at the Meaux-Chauconin penitentiary center in Seine-et-Marne, said the public prosecutor of Meaux, Jean-Baptiste Bladier. Held in detention “following an error”, the man had been tried in immediate appearance on August 16. He had been found guilty by the Meaux Criminal Court of sexual assault, aggravated violence, kidnapping, sequestration or arbitrary detention.

Sentenced to a three-year prison sentence with a two-year probationary suspension, no arrest warrant had however been requested against him. Consequently, there was no provision for the deceased to be re-imprisoned after his appearance in court.

A “error” in the administrative document

The detention of Assane G. would therefore be due to an error according to information from Parisien. Indeed, the administrative document that had been completed following the hearing by the prosecution included an “erroneous entry”. This then indicated a sentence of thirty-six months in prison, including twenty-four months with probationary suspension “with continued detention”, Jean-Baptiste Bladier announced in a press release. Thus, “it is following this inaccurate statement” that the defendant was returned to his cell, the magistrate said.

Shortly after his incarceration, the fifty-year-old was found “particularly agitated” in his cell, reports 20minutes. A piece of cloth placed around his neck was notably found, forcing prison officers to intervene. The man, who suffered from diabetes, had come into contact with the shields before losing consciousness. Despite the intervention of the officers and attempts to resuscitate him, the detainee was declared dead at the scene. Entrusted to the Meaux police station, an investigation into the causes of death was opened by the public prosecutor's office in order to shed full light on this tragedy. An autopsy on the victim's body should also take place in the coming days.