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Staff Not Judge Decides Solitary Confinement for Delaware Inmates

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A Delaware Supreme Court decision finds former death row inmate Isaiah McCoy back in solitary confinement at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution.

The high court ruled that a lower court judge had erred when he ordered prison officials to move him out of solitary confinement.

His attorney had argued that the 5 years in solitary confinement had affected his mental state and was hindering his participation in preparing for his upcoming retrial.

The high court ruled that placement in solitary confinement was at the discretion of the prison staff who had classified him as a high risk.

The 28-year old McCoy was convicted of killing Jeffrey Munford during a 2010 drug deal in Dover.

He was found guilty in 2012 but his conviction and death sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court.

McCoy not awaits a new trial set for January.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.