Woman Dead in Cell Had Said She Didn't Want to Die in Jail

[jpak]

Source: ABC News

Footage recorded by police body cameras shows a woman saying she had medical problems and didn't want to die in an Ohio jail cell about 15 hours before she was found dead there.

Northeast Ohio Media Group ( http://bit.ly/1NnfHsd ) reports the footage shows 37-year-old Ralkina Jones discussing her medical problems, which included a heart condition, seizures and depression.

Jones was found dead July 26 in her cell in Cleveland Heights. A cause of death hasn't been determined, but an autopsy didn't find suspicious injuries.

Police say paramedics took Jones to a medical facility for an evaluation the night before she died and continued checking on her after she returned to jail.

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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/woman-dead-cell-die-jail-33038568

[jwirr]

1. Surely there must be a law that states that if someone asks for medical assistance that they have

a right to it? This should be a basic right. It also seems to me that a medical examination before being placed in a cell would not be a bad law. I think that when entering a prison one is placed in a holding cell until this is done so that others in the general population will not be subject to a disease.

Why not enlarge this idea to all jails?

[magical thyme]

2. from the article, she was given medical care the evening before because she appeared

"lethargic." They discussed moving her to a different cell so she could stay in contact with her family, but the cell she was in made it easier to monitor her condition.

It reads like they did what they could (obviously there will need to be more investigation) and didn't deny or delay any treatment. She was taking all her meds.

She had a number of health conditions; perhaps the altercation with her ex left her with some internal injury that the medical exam didn't pick up on.

Very sad situation.

link to a local source with more detail
http://www.cleveland.com/cleveland-heights/index.ssf/2015/08/i_dont_want_to_die_in_your_cel_1.html#incart_m-rpt-1

[jwirr]

4. Thank you. It does sound like she got some help.

[Babel_17]

3. That final scoop of crap piled onto peoples lives

People are hurting, this is known. A lot of people's crimes are just rooted in poverty, if they had the attorneys the wealthy get then many of them wouldn't be be getting stashed in jails and prisons so as to provide an income for the prison industrial complex.

No money for the people when they're outside jail and hurting, no money for treatment when they're inside and hurting. This is the pattern. The only people who see them are those making a buck off of them.

Before posting I clicked the link in the article and read this:

Jones also told police about a brain injury she received from abuse from her ex-husband, the man who Jones was accused of assaulting the night of her arrest.

So sad.

http://www.cleveland.com/cleveland-heights/index.ssf/2015/08/i_dont_want_to_die_in_your_cel_1.html#incart_m-rpt-1

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

5. It sounds like she was treated fairly well in jail ...

... much better than she was treated at home.

Agree, it's very sad.

[Babel_17]

6. Yes, sounds like the personnell were professional

Sounds like the personnel were professional and caring but the system isn't thought out well enough, or at least caring enough, to handle people in need.

She wasn't convicted of anything, she was presumably innocent and she was in need of the right environment. Unless there had been a real risk of her bouncing right back to a confrontation with her ex then she should have been released on her own recognizance right away. She didn't ask to be in the system, the system took responsibility for her. She provided the info that made clear her needs.

When I say "she should have been released " I say it in the sense of what would be the right thing to do. Once she was booked, processed, and all information taken, there was no utility to her staying in a jail. She had verifiably serious conditions and afaik posed no threat, or flight risk. I don't know the details of her situation, or her case, I just know our society needs to recognize how many people are hurting. If the system just has to have her appear before a judge then her medical condition should cause that to happen right away.

I guess this amounts to a pet peeve of mine. Bail is supposed to be reasonable, warehousing defendants was never allowed for in the Constitution. I'm not soft on crime but I don't think our current system is in accordance with our laws and principles.

I don't want a war on crime, I want a war on what's making possible our prison industrial complex.

Now I'm veering towards going off topic. RIP Ralkina Jones.

[magical thyme]

7. in general I agree, victims of domestic violence shouldn't automatically be jailed for turning

violent against their abusers. They need help and protection, not further punishment.

Don't know what the options under current law are in that state, or details of her frame of mind at the time of her arrest. It does sound as though she went all out against him -- tried to run him down with her daughter in the car.

Very sad situation. We need to get back to helping and protecting, not jailing everybody and adding to the misery and ruination of lives and families.

[Babel_17]

8. I googled and got some details

http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2015/07/what_we_know_about_ralkina_jones.html

I suppose it was inevitable she'd have to face a judge before she could get released. We can hope that this highlights the need for more funding for medical care.

[magical thyme]

9. it looks like 1 out of 3 rounds of meds may have been missed.

The main jail log shows 3 rounds; the medical log shows only 2.

Most of her illnesses were not lethal, but apparently her TBI left her with brain aneurysms. Potentially lethal and no room for error or neglect.

Either an med order was missed or a log error (which does happen in the labs where I work).

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/officials-admit-ralkina-jones-may-have-been-improperly-medicated-before-she-died-in-police-custody-10452953.html