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The federal government must disclose details about its investigation into the death of an inmate found hanged in an Oklahoma City prison in 1995, the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
The disclosure has been sought from the U.S. Department of Justice for years by the inmate's brother, Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue. He believes Kenneth Trentadue, a convicted bank robber, was beaten and killed in an interrogation by guards who mistook him for a suspect in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building two months earlier.
In its ruling, the 10th Circuit said Trentadue can have the bulk of the information he requested. While the Justice Department can withhold the identities of low-level employees who committed "serious acts of misconduct," it must release information on how they were "dealt with" and details about Kenneth Trentadue's death.
"The public interest in learning how law enforcement agencies dealt with these individuals is very high and that information must be released," the appellate court said.
The court's decision carries significance both for him and for the public by saying that the government must be held accountable for its actions, Trentadue said.
"We are anxious to see what was covered up and what was involved" in Kenneth's death, he said, adding that the decision gave the Justice Department a "constitutional enema."
Trentadue filed suit under the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) seeking certain documents in the possession of the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency, an agency charged with investigating alleged wrongdoing by federal law enforcement officers.
The Integrity Committee, a subdivision of the council, denied his request and cited several exemptions under FOIA to keep from releasing details of the investigation. After a judge in Utah upheld the denial, Trentadue appealed.
The appellate court said that while some information is protected from release, most of the material falls outside the exemptions and must be disclosed.
The FOIA lawsuit followed the death of Kenneth Trentadue, whose bloodied body was found hanging inside his prison cell at the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Aug. 21, 1995. The inmate was being held on an alleged parole violation.
Several state and federal investigations determined that the death was a suicide, findings that the Trentadue family disputes.
The case will now return to U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, where a judge will handle the release of the documents. That release could be delayed if there is an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.