Inmates Are Still Dying at Charlotte County Prison

Antonio Kirkland

A spate of troublesome deaths has continued this year at Charlotte Correctional Institute. Most recently, it was just revealed that inmate Antonio Kirkland was reported dead on July 10, 2017. The report was released Thursday, with no details on how he died. News-Press reporter Melissa Montoya was able to extract a telling quote from FDLE spokesperson Jessica Cary, who pointedly stated, “We don’t normally investigate deaths of natural causes.” Kirkland was serving life in prison for armed robbery, in addition to attempted murder and other charges in Pinellas.

Cesar Ruano

Kirkland’s death is the second to be investigated this year at CCI. In May, a 37-year-old inmate named Cesar Ruano, a.k.a. “El Diablo”, was found dead, and no information was released to date. Ruano was serving life in prison for a first-degree murder out of Miami-Dade. The News-Press article indicates there was an investigation for this death, and as Ms. Cary pointed out, they don’t usually investigate deaths of natural causes. While FDLE and DOC have not released any information, a person claiming to be Ruano’s brother commented on a Facebook post, claiming that he died in solitary confinement, crying for help.

There was another inmate death earlier this year, making Kirkland’s at least the third at CCI this year. 48-year-old Michael Diffenderfer passed away suddenly in April at CCI. He had been serving consecutive life sentences for murder and armed robbery from Palm Beach. The cause of death in his case has been reported to be natural: pulmonary embolism as a result of deep vein thrombosis. That’s according to Diffenderfer’s ex-wife… FDLE did not publicly release any information regarding that death either. We don’t have any suggestion that his death was suspicious, but no official word from FDLE, either.

The News-Press says that FDLE is still investigating three deaths from last year (2016), and another from 2015. Including the two from the last couple months, that’s six troublesome cases that are apparently still under investigation. That doesn’t include the 2014 death of Matthew Walker, who’s death was determined to be a homicide at the hands of correctional officers, but for which the State failed to secure an indictment, due in part to a botched investigation and/or cover-up. That means more than 10 criminal probes in the last few years. Coverage of that case, and others, garnered at Pulitzer Prize for the Charlotte Sun. But even their award-winning writing has not led to answers for the ongoing spate of inmate deaths. Nor has it brought an end to the growing body-count piling up at Charlotte Correctional Institute.

More coverage of Charlotte Correctional Institute is worth reading

So, Another Inmate Died at Charlotte Correctional Institute

Reginald Davis

While it hasn’t made a lot of local news, there has been a rash of inmate deaths, many from non-natural causes. This past week, Reginald Davis passed away, authorities indicate he killed himself. This might not be noteworthy, except for the string of deaths at Charlotte Correctional Institute, just south of Punta Gorda. As of August, 2015, there were five inmate death investigations ongoing. That represents at least the seventh criminal investigation at CCI in recent years. One that did end in prosecution was the brutal beating and eye-gouging of an inmate that resulted in a federal conviction for a guard, William Wilson, a few years ago. Sadly, that incident made national news, not for the crime, but because the whistle-blower guard who reported it was framed and then fired after he testified for the government after the attack. He sued, and reached a settlement for $135,000.

Robert Peterkin

There is also reason to be skeptical of the report that the inmate committed suicide. Just last year, authorities allege that Robert Peterkin hung himself in another suicide. However, his family thinks something more sinister occurred. Peterkin had just reported that contraband was possibly being smuggled into the facility. He was confined shortly after making the report, and was found dead 13 minutes later. However, he had made statements to his family prior to his death that lead them to be skeptical that he killed himself; statements that are ominous, in hindsight. “He said nothing will be like it appears to be,” his sister told the Bradenton Herald, and that he suggested they look closely at the prison.

Matthew Walker

The one death case that did indicate a murder by the guards was failed to be successfully prosecuted. Inmate Matthew Walker was brutally beaten to death by prison guards, and the medical examiner determined his death to have been a homicide at the hands of guards. Walker’s larynx was crushed and he sustained blows to his head, neck and torso. However, the grand jury did not indict, in part due to poor handling of the crime scene, and much of the evidence being mishandled or destroyed. The handling of the evidence suggested a cover up by prison employees.

Shockingly, one of the grand jurors was so baffled by the failure of prosecutors to make a stronger push for charges, she broke her oath of secrecy to come forward to express her disappointment in the failure to hold anyone accountable. “We all knew they were guilty and should have been prosecuted, but we were talked out of indicting them. This man was beaten to death,” Louise Salcedo said to reporters. She makes it sound as though prosecutors discouraged indictment due to the challenge of prosecuting the case, and that the grand jury wasn’t allowed to question several officers that were pulled from the witness list. Salcedo said that she, and other jurors, wanted to indict but were ultimately outvoted. Meanwhile, there is no justice for Walker’s homicide, even though investigators determined that five of the workers involved could have faced criminal charges. Instead, most of them were given their jobs back.

The latest death is one in a series of deaths under questionable circumstances in just a few years at Charlotte Correctional Institution. The loved ones of the deceased are still looking for answers.

The Miami Herald has done an extensive report on prison abuses.