"It was placed there to preclude him from spitting and spreading any fluid," says a Corrections Department spokeswoman.

09:15 AM EDT on Tuesday, April 19, 2005

BY MICHAEL CORKERY
Journal Staff Writer

The plastic mask that Esteban Carpio wore into District Court yesterday was a "spit shield" that corrections officials said was used to prevent him from spitting at the officers transporting him to and from the J. Joseph Garrahy Judicial Complex.

Joy Fox, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections, called the use of the mask a rare security measure.

"It was placed there to preclude him from spitting and spreading any fluid," said Fox.

In interviews, several lawyers and former law enforcement officials said yesterday they could not recall ever seeing a defendant fitted with this kind of mask in court.

"I have never seen or heard of a restraint on someone's face," said Andrew Horwitz, a former public defender and associate professor at Ralph R. Papitto School of Law at Roger Williams University.

The plastic mask covered Carpio's nose and mouth and had small holes for ventilation. Carpio's eyes were nearly swollen shut and his forehead was covered in bruises. At one point during the arraignment, droplets of blood speckled the white mask. The lower half of Carpio's face was never exposed during his brief and only public appearance yesterday.

Fox said a major concern was Carpio's blood. More than 24 hours after his arrest, Carpio was still bleeding from his injuries, which Fox said is rare.

Fox said corrections officials were concerned that Carpio would become combative. She said it was possible he could pool blood in his mouth and spit it at sheriffs transporting him.

Since his arrival at the Adult Correctional Institutions Sunday afternoon, Carpio had been compliant, Fox said.

At 12:30 p.m. Sunday, a "transport team" of five corrections officers, a deputy warden and a corrections nurse met Carpio at the Providence Public Safety complex, where he was being held.

The nurse reviewed Carpio's medical records from Rhode Island Hospital, where he had been treated before being released into Providence police custody.

Fox said privacy laws prevent her from commenting on Carpio's medical condition at the time.

By 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, the transport team took Carpio to the ACI. He was stripped and showered and taken to a segregated cell, where a guard was posted outside and a log of his activities was started.

Fox said it was the corrections staff's "judgment call" to apply the mask. Horwitz said the use of this mask raises questions about whether the suspect is being treated fairly. This image of Carpio is likely to be broadcast in the news for months and viewed by prospective jurors, he said.

"It is an unpopular question to ask right now, but an important question to ask," said Horwitz.

"With the most vicious and heinous crimes and most detestable defendants, that's when the quality of our criminal justice system gets tested."