Yesterday's Daily Freeman had the goods: a Freedom of Information Law request turned up a damning report from the state Commission on Corrections on the death of 22-year-old Richard Vandemark in the Ulster County jail last April. Vandemark hanged himself in the jail's medical unit, a day after his arrest on an assault charge.
The report says Sperath, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, told sheriff’s office investigators in a sworn statement that he believed he had seen Vandemark sitting at his table writing when he performed his 6 p.m. round on April 8, 2009.
But, according to the report, when commission officials reviewed the infirmary’s housing area video, they found Sperath had not seen Vandemark for over a half hour before Vandemark was found in a three-bed medical unit “hanging in the shower area suspended from the curtain rod by a bed sheet ligature” at 6:16 p.m.
The ever-classy UC Mojo notes that this could be an opportunity for a Republican to challenge the incumbent county sheriff, Paul van Blarcum.
