Full Breakdown
Two Detainee Deaths at Winn Correctional Center Highlight Ongoing ICE Facility Concerns
6/9/2026, 5:33:33 AM
Incident Overview
On June 4, 2024, 43-year-old Mamuka Artmeladze, a Georgian national detained for nearly four months at Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana, was found unresponsive. Staff performed lifesaving measures before he was taken to a local hospital, where a doctor pronounced him dead within an hour. The cause of death is pending an autopsy. Earlier that day, 49-year-old Alejandro Cabrera Clemente, a Mexican-born detainee who had recently lived in Tennessee, was discovered unresponsive during a security check and died after transport to the same hospital; a coroner ruled his death due to natural cardiovascular disease.
Facility Background and Management
Winn Correctional Center, operated by the Winn Parish Sheriff’s Office under contract with ICE contractor LaSalle Corrections, detains over 1,500 male immigrants, most without criminal records, while U.S. Border Patrol determines their immigration status.
Mortality Statistics
Artmeladze’s death is the 19th ICE custody fatality nationwide since Jan 1, 2024, and the second at Winn since April 11, underscoring heightened scrutiny of ICE’s detention practices.
Inspection Findings on Health, Safety, and Use of Force
The DHS Office of Inspector General’s unannounced inspection cited water leaks in kitchen vents, ceiling insulation gaps, and freezers operating above safe temperatures. It also found incomplete medical treatment records and lab logs, and documented use-of-force violations, including a banned chokehold and a pen-stabbing of a detainee’s thumb.
Official Responses from ICE and DHS
ICE announced Artmeladze’s death, noting staff’s immediate response and that the cause remains pending autopsy. Following the OIG report, ICE accepted nine corrective recommendations and reported implementing several to improve health, food service, medical documentation, and use-of-force protocols.
Criticism and Calls for Reform
The deaths have intensified mounting scrutiny over whether ICE detention facilities are medically neglecting detainees and forcing them to live in inhumane conditions, charges that ICE denies.
Conflicting Reports and Information Gaps
The coroner attributes Cabrera’s death to natural causes, while Artmeladze’s cause remains undetermined pending autopsy. The OIG report details numerous deficiencies, yet ICE has not disclosed full compliance with all nine recommendations.
Verbatim Quotes
- “ICE said staff began lifesaving measures before he was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where a doctor pronounced him dead less than an hour later.” — ICE, Press Release
- “The coroner ruled that Cabrera, a native of Mexico who had recently lived in Tennessee, died from natural causes due to cardiovascular disease.” — Coroner’s Report
- “The report described water leaking through vents in the kitchen, holes and exposed insulation in the intake building’s ceiling, and food stored in freezers above required temperatures.” — DHS Office of Inspector General Report
- “Medical staff at Winn failed to keep updated treatment documents and laboratory testing records, which could “negatively impact detainee health care and safety,” the report warned.” — DHS Office of Inspector General Report
