Rhode Island news
"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
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."
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