Minnesota Department of Corrections investigates death of juvenile at Red Wing correctional facility; reveals facility violated four correctional standards

(ABC 6 News) — The Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) has released its investigative report into the death of a juvenile at the Minnesota Correctional Facility – Red Wing.

Related: Juvenile found dead at Red Wing correctional facility

The juvenile died on October 19, 2024. The Southern Minnesota Medical Examiner’s Office’s autopsy report said the cause of death was a self hanging.

According to the investigative report, the correctional facility violated four correctional standards.

The report states that the facility was supposed to remove a staff person from their position on June 29, 2023, due to not cooperating with background check studies. That staff person was working during the incident on October 18, 2024.

The facility also failed to complete an on-time well-being check on October 18, 2024, with the check occurring 11 minutes late. Additionally, while 30-minute checks were documented overnight of the juvenile, camera footage showed the checks lasted approximately one second, not allowing enough time to ensure the safety and well-being of residents.

Another violation stemmed from a time frame of 1:26 p.m. to 2:24 p.m. during which the juvenile was unaccounted for with no documentation as to where the juvenile was during that time.

Finally, the facility is required by Minnesota Rule, part 2960.0080, Subpart 11 to document attempts to contact the child’s parent or guardian to seek permission for administering medication. The report states that there were no documented attempted to seek permission to administer medication.