Investigators are probing the death of a homeless former Marine on Rikers Island whose cell had overheated to at least 100 degrees. One official said "He basically baked to death." The inmate hadn't been checked on for hours, although he was supposed to looked in on every 15 minutes and was complaining of the heat. He was in a mental-observation unit and was taking medication that may have made him vulnerable to heat. An autopsy was inconclusive and that more tests were needed. He was arrested for sleeping on the roof of a project building. Problems with the handling mentally ill patients on Rikers Island have been escalating in recent years.
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