Attorneys for family of Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano still seeking autopsy report after death in prison, files suit

Norma Bibiano, center, holds a news conference with her attorney, left, in Decatur, Ga., on Thursday, July 25, 2024
Norma Bibiano, center, holds a news conference with her attorney, left, in Decatur, Ga., on Thursday, July 25, 2024. Norma Bibiano son, Juan Ramirez Bibiano, an inmate at Telfair State Prison in Georgia, died of heart and lung failure after officers left him in an outdoor cell in the summer heat for five hours without water or ice, despite instructions from a warden to limit the amount of time inmates spend outdoors, a lawsuit filed by his family says (AP Photo/Charlotte Kramon)

Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano, 27, died at Telfair State Prison on July 20, 2023. Correction officers allegedly placed him in an outdoor concrete-floor cage without any water or shade for five hours.

On Wednesday’s edition of “Closer Look,” Wingo Smith, an attorney representing the Ramirez family, told show host Rose Scott that Ramirez’s internal body temperature reached 107 degrees. According to a press release from the family’s attorney’s office, Ramirez died from a cardiopulmonary attack that was caused by prolonged exposure to extreme heat.

The Georgia Department of Corrections says Ramirez died of natural causes, and Smith says the family still hasn’t received an autopsy report from Georgia Bureau of Investigation after several requests. Smith further explained why he believes prison officials acted negligently and discussed concerns about the prison system’s secrecy in cases like Ramirez’s and the lawsuit that has now been filed on behalf of his family.