Bernstein v. State, A-1601-08T3; Appellate Division; opinion by Parrillo, J.A.D.; decided and approved for publication January 11, 2010. Before Judges Carchman, Parrillo and Ashrafi. On appeal from the Law Division, Middlesex County, L-2922-06. DDS No. 46-2-6447 [32 pp.]
Alexander Bernstein was attacked and killed by a fellow inmate, Hassan Doss, in the inmate dining room (IDR) at East Jersey State Prison. Shortly before 7 a.m., Doss ran to where Bernstein was standing and attacked him. Bernstein was beaten for approximately four-and-one-half minutes before an emergency response team ended the incident. As soon as he saw Doss attack, Sergeant John Cunningham, observing the mess hall from a protective cage suspended above the mess hall floor, activated the riot bell, then used a bullhorn to direct Doss to end the attack. Two emergency response teams assembled, which took less than one minute. The first team went in while the second team remained on stand-by. The first team secured Doss, and Bernstein was placed on a gurney for transport to the institutional hospital approximately eight minutes and 35 seconds after the attack began. At 7:36 a.m., Bernstein was pronounced dead.
