Prison Guards Exonerated After Inmate Dies In 'Boiling' Hot Shower (Photos)

Prison guards will not face charges over the death of a mentally ill inmate left to die in a hot shower for two hours. Prosecutors in Florida concluded that Darren Rainey's death at a Miami jail was accidental and linked to an undiagnosed heart disease .  Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said there was no evidence of any crime, ending a lengthy probe into the fatal 2012 incident.

Rainey was serving a two-year sentence for a cocaine charge when he died at Dade Correctional Institution in Miami on June 23, 2012. The 50-year-old was taken to the shower after smearing excrement on himself, his bedsheets and the walls of his cell.

It was alleged that he was locked in the shower and blasted with scalding hot water as punishment.

However a memo said the shower was turned on from an adjacent room and Rainey initially refused to stand under the water before complying and asking for soap.

He started to wash then told guards "No, I don't want to do this," and leaned on a wall away from the water, Officer Roland Clarke told investigators.

Two hours later, Rainey was found lying face up in about three inches of water with no pulse and not breathing.

It was reported that his skin had separated from his body and the water temperature was later measured at 180 degrees (82 Celsius).

Several inmates said they heard Rainey screaming for help.

However prosecutors concluded Hempstead's claims were not supported by other evidence, including video footage from inside the prison.

Correctional officers did not commit murder or manslaughter, prosecutors said.

Rainey's family were "disappointed and heartbroken" by the news, their lawyer Milton Grimes said.