Latino USA: The Strange Death of José de Jesús

In a special two-part radio series, NPR’s Latino USA investigates the unusual death of a man in an U.S. immigrant detention center, and what his death tells us about conditions —especially mental health services— inside the immigrant detention system. This investigation was reported with assistance from The Marshall Project. This series was awarded a 2017 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.

In par ttwo of the two-part special, Latino USA continues an investigation into the death of a man in a U.S. immigration detention center in 2015. José de Jesús turned himself into Border Patrol saying somebody was after him. Three days later, he died by suicide after stuffing a sock down his throat. In part two of this story, surveillance video reveals clues about what happened inside his cell, and an internal investigation from Immigration and Customs Enforcement answers many of our questions about what happened to José in the days leading up to his death.

KJ