Autopsy reports revealed on Thursday that a mentally-ill inmate in North Carolina, who had spent more than a month in solitary confinement, had died of dehydration.

Michael Anthony Kerr, an inmate who had flooded his cell twice, was found unconscious at the back of a van on March 12 after a three-hour ride from Alexander Correctional Institution to a mental institution in Raleigh.

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According to the medical examiner, the 54-year-old inmate suffering from schizophrenia was found to have died because of dehydration. In addition, his autopsy report revealed that he was not receiving any treatment for the symptoms of his mental illness.

According to an Associated Press report, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) imposes a policy that allows jail staff to turn off water in an inmate's sink and toilet as a response to "misuse of plumbing facilities."

Public record revealed that Kerr was placed in solitary confinement on February 5 as he has been deemed to be under "administrative segregation" to preserve order in the prison "where other methods of control have failed."

The 54-year-old inmate was reported to have intentionally flooded his cell twice in February.

In February 25, a day after the second cell flooding incident, Kerr was moved to "disciplinary segregation," commonly referred to as "The Hole".

After Kerr was found dead, the NCDPS had terminated a captain and four nurses at the North Carolina correctional. Another nurse and the staff psychologist had also stepped down from office.

Dr. Susan Venuti, a pathologist from the North Carolina Medical Examiner's Office, reported that the autopsy had revealed unanswered key details regarding Kerr's death, such as the inmate's last access to food and water.

However, Venuti explained that they cannot classify Kerr's death to be whether natural, accidental, or homicide due to the lack of information given to their office.

"It was not possible to make any firm conclusions regarding the inmate's nutrition and fluid intake, and whether or not his mental health and/or external factors played a role in the dehydration," she wrote.

TagsMentally ill, Inmate, Dead, dehydration