Before his body temp hit 109 and he died, Jail Pumps Heat into the Mentally Ill Man's Cell
Tommy Lee Rutledge, 44, spent the last moments of his life shoving his face as close as he could to the window of his cell gasping for cooler air. the warmth was being pumped into his jail cell within the psychological state ward and he had no thanks to escaping it, causing his body temp to skyrocket to 109, killing him from hyperthermia. The Alabama Department of Corrections has refused to answer any questions on why Rutledge’s cell was so hot given the very fact that on the night he died, the surface temperature was 31 degrees. They cited an “ongoing investigation” as their reason for silence. According to Rutledge’s autopsy, he was found unresponsive in Donaldson prison on the night of Dec. 7, sitting near the window of his single-occupant cell together with his head “facing out the window,” in an obvious try to breathe cooler air. Beth Shelburne, a contra...