The family of a 25-year-old man who died while in solitary confinement at MDC Brooklyn is demanding answers about how he died.
Relatives say they were told Godfrie Cole may have died of an overdose. But they question how he could have gotten pills inside one of the jail's most secure areas, noting that someone in solitary confinement should not have access to anything beyond monitored medications.
Federal officials say Cole was found unresponsive inside the jail on July 21st. Staff members tried to save him before he was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Bureau of Prisons has not said how Cole died.
According to his family, Cole had bipolar disorder but was otherwise physically healthy. They say he was working to manage his mental health so that he could return home.
Cole had been held at MDC Brooklyn since January 2024. He was serving a four-year sentence for a robbery in the Bronx.
His attorneys are now requesting a hearing and want the Bureau of Prisons to turn over surveillance video as well as his mental health records.