The federal government has admitted that its negligence was responsible for the death of an illegal immigrant who pleaded during 11 months in custody for treatment for a condition that proved to be terminal penile cancer, the San Francisco Chronicle reports today.

Last month, a federal judge found the government's treatment of Francisco Castaneda "beyond cruel and unusual."

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Government lawyers made the acknowledgement last week in a suit that Francisco Castaneda filed before he died at his Los Angeles-area home on Feb. 16 at age 36. Doctors had amputated Castaneda's penis a year earlier to try to stop the spread of the cancer.

A lawyer for family members who have taken over the lawsuit said Monday the admission followed a government physician's sworn statements that she knew a biopsy was the only way to determine whether Castaneda had cancer but never authorized one - a decision that was approved by officials at the headquarters of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The apathy of the jail doctor who was charged with Castaneda's care during his detention is chilling:

In pretrial deposition last month, Esther Hui, the only doctor at the San Diego detention facility, said Castaneda was under the care of a physician's assistant. Hui said she recalled seeing Castaneda only once, probably in the spring of 2006, when she was shown the penile lesion and thought it might be cancerous.

 

But Hui said she does not recall conducting or ordering any tests to rule out cancer. When an outside oncologist told her later that Castaneda should be hospitalized immediately for a biopsy, she disagreed, explaining during the deposition that she considered the procedure elective because Castaneda was not in imminent danger of dying.

 

Hui, a defendant in the lawsuit, said she is sad about what happened to Castaneda, but "I don't feel responsible" for his death.