The New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) is facing a crisis of legitimacy and ethics after a young man who committed suicide in November died from a combination of alcohol and prescription medications.
His family claims that the state’s own coronavirus investigation found that the teen, 17-year-old Joshua D. Johnson, died from an opioid overdose.
The family claims he suffered from depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder, and they also allege that the coroner failed to properly investigate his death.
Johnson was sentenced to life in prison without parole last November for the 2014 killing of 19-year old Tyler Voss, who was shot dead while walking to his apartment in the Bronx, New York.
In an open letter to Gov.
Chris Christie, Johnson’s family wrote that Johnson had been in custody for a week and that the judge had ordered a stay of execution.
The letter also alleges that the DOC failed to report Johnson’s condition to the medical examiner.
The medical examiner’s office has not been able to confirm Johnson’s death to the state.
Johnson’s mother, Kimberly, said her son had been receiving medication for depression for several months before his suicide.
He had been taking a prescription antidepressant for depression, which she said had become problematic.
Johnson reportedly used a heroin-laced syringe and fentanyl.
According to the family, Johnson died after a fight with his mother.
A doctor at the hospital where Johnson was treated said that Johnson was not suicidal and that he had been experiencing psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations, at the time of his death, according to the New York Daily News.
The DOC has been working on a new coronaviruses strategy to address opioid abuse and overdoses.
However, some have questioned whether the strategy will actually work and whether it will be enough.
An online petition calling for the resignation of the commissioner of the New Jersey Corrections Department, Robert R. McCarty, has garnered over 10,000 signatures.
According.
to the petition, the department’s strategy to combat the opioid crisis was a failure, as it has resulted in an increase in the death rate for inmates and staff.
It has also led to the incarceration of more than 30,000 inmates, many of whom are drug-addicted and are on medications that may have caused their death, said the petition.
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