EDDIE ROWTON

Eddie Rowton, died on the Terrell Unit, Livingston, Texas on March 21st 01, of heart attack after begging for help for chest pain for 2 full days.

Nurse on the unit told Eddie, according to those in cells around him, "quit complaining, its only heartburn". Unit Doctor gave him tylenol.

Finally after those in cells around Eddie made so much noise guards were forced to come, handcuffed Eddie and started walking him down the hall. Eddie Rowton dropped dead of a heart attack with the cuffs still on.

It might have been prevented if medical personel had paid attention when he first began complaining of chest pain.

Prisoners who die in a Texas prison are almost 100% buried in the Joe Byrd Cemetary, Huntsville, unless relatives claim their body. The Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice instantly cremated Eddie Rowtons body.

EDDIE ROWTON

By Brenda Bennett

On March 19th Eddie Rowton began having chest pains. Severe pains. He began calling out to the guards for help. To no avail. This was on a Monday morning. Eddie's pains continued and he kept crying out for help. Finally the guards came and got him and cuffed him and took him to the infirmary.

The medic takes a quick look and sends him back to his cell. When the guards return Eddie to his cell they shove him in and tell him "Live with it".

All evening Eddie cries out to anyone who will listen. The other inmates are becoming very concerned. Eddie is crying out all night. The inmates try to attract the guards by beating on their bars. Finally the guards come and back Eddie up into his cell and hand cuffs his hands behind his back.

By now, Eddie is barely able to walk by himself. The laughing guards start dragging Eddie to the infirmary. With his hands cuffed behind him. They get him no more than 120 feet from his cell and Eddie drops dead of a massive heart attack. Well this disgusts the guards. So they leave poor Eddie on the floor for more than an hour.

In the first place, our tax dollars pay for the inmates medical help. Why was he not kept in infirmary for a day or two under close watch. And why does the prison not have a wheel chair for moving ill inmates? The strain of trying to make the walk back to the infirmary was surely a very big strain on Eddie's heart.

This story has upset me more than the usual because the poor man died with no dignity at all. These inmates are not cattle. They are very real human beings. And should be treated as such. In my books, Eddie was a better man than the guards that let him die this way.

Terrell Unit--Livingston, Texas If you would like to write about Eddie's death at Terrell Unit Please do so:

Warden James Zeller--Senior Warden
12002 FM 350 South Terrell Unit
Livingston, Texas 77351

RICHARD MILLER

Richard Miller died March 15, 01 on the Ellis Unit, Huntsville, Texas.

It is reported by other prisoners that Richard had been complaining to medical personel for some time that the medication he was receiving was not effective. It is further reported that Richard had passed out on several occasions.

ROGELIO GARZA

Rogelio Garza, died March 31st 01, on the Michaels Unit, Tennessee Colony, Texas.

It is reported he died of blows to the body and was found on the dayroom floor. Prison officials are "investigating".

LOIS ELLIS

April 05, 2001

By Will Greenlee
of the News staff

The death of a pregnant, 26-year-old inmate at the St. Lucie County jail was caused by an "acute bronchial spasm" that could not have been prevented, an associate medical examiner said Wednesday.

The spasm suffered by Lois Ellis, whom Fort Pierce police arrested Feb. 26 on charges including battery on a law enforcement officer, resulted from "severe bronchial asthma," said the associate medical examiner, Dr. Charles Diggs.

"It's the kind of phenomenon that will hit you just without warning," he said. "All people who have asthma will go into asthmatic attacks from time to time, but you just never know when you'll just get a complete bronchial constriction or shutdown."

Death under these circumstances, Diggs said, is "pretty fast." Had she not been in jail at the time, he said, "the same thing would have happened."

Chief Deputy Garry Wilson said sheriff's officials knew Ellis, who a jail official said had a criminal history stretching to 1992, had asthma.

"She had her inhaler available to her when she needed it," he said. "She was being monitored for her medical condition."

When people enter a bronchial spasm, they can be "loaded" with the proper inhaler and "it just doesn't help," Diggs said.

"We did everything we possibly could have that was allowable," Wilson said. "It was to the point that even the inhaler did not help her because she was given her inhaler and she used her inhaler and she still stopped breathing."

Ellis, who in the past had been charged locally with aggravated assault and grand theft, told a deputy that she was having difficulty breathing. The deputy "immediately" notified medical staff, said sheriff's spokesman Mark Weinberg.

Her cell was "right next to the medical wing" and medical personnel arrived "virtually at once," he said. Ellis was taken to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center in Fort Pierce, where she was pronounced dead.

"I got the records and it seems like everything that you can possibly do in an instance like this (the jail medical staff) did," Diggs said.

Ellis' family members declined to comment.

At least two others have died in the custody of the sheriff's office since May 2000. One of them died of "acute" Elavil poisoning.

"What I would be concerned with is if people were dying of the actual same thing or the same type of problem," Diggs said. "But when you've got people dying of various different things... I don't put too much stock in that."

41-year-old inmate dies in jail

4/13/01
By FRED RAMOS
Valley Morning Star

BROWNSVILLE — A 41-year-old Brownsville man charged with burglary died at the Cameron County Jail on Thursday morning.

He was pronounced dead at Brownsville Medical Center at about 12:30 a.m. An autopsy is being performed to determine the cause of death.

Cameron County Sheriff’s Capt. Joe Elizardi said the man, whose identity was not released, said jailers found the man on the floor in his cell during a routine cell check.

"Upon checking him, they immediately called an ambulance and for the medical staff," said Elizardi. "They were doing the count and noticed that he was down and having trouble breathing."

The inmate was alone in the cell when he was discovered, he said.

Elizardi said the inmate had not been involved in a physical altercation during his arrest or during his incarceration.

"He had just been brought in by the Brownsville police department on a $5,000 bond," said Elizardi.

The suspect was arrested and arrived at the jail at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, he said.

MARY CRISTAN

INMATE FOUND DEAD IN MARLIN PRISON

MARLIN DEMOCRAT

By Denton Ramsey, Managing Editor
MAY 27, 2007

Investigations continue into the death of Central Texas inmate Mary Cristan, 44, after she was found lying in her cell with her hands bound in her Hobby Unit prison cell last Saturday in Marlin.

According to Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons, guards saw Cristan's cellmate standing at the cell door and saying that Cristan was unresponsive at around 10:44 p.m.

After guards began unsuccessful resuscitation efforts, an ambulance took Cristan to the Falls Community Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 11:58 p.m.

Lyons said investigators were looking at the 26-year-old cellmate as a possible subject, with scratches and abrasions pointing to a previous altercation that night, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald.

Cristan had been an inmate at the Marlin unit since June 10, 2003, and was scheduled for release in July.

UNNAMED MALE INMATE

TEXAS INMATE DROWNS AFTER FALLING INTO CREEK

Houston Chronicle

Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
July 3, 2007

A Texas inmate at the Stringfellow unit near Rosharon drowned Tuesday morning while taking part in a prison K9-unit drill, a prison spokeswoman said.

The 48-year-old trusty, not identified pending notification of next of kin, was with another inmate participating in a "routine training exercise" when he fell into a creek and drowned about 8 a.m., said Michelle Lyons, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman.

"We don't yet know the circumstances of why he entered the creek," Lyons explained, "but the other offender reported that once in the creek, he was swept away. His body was recovered several hours later."

She said that the trusties were "laying the track" for the search team to try to pick up when the accident occurred.

VERNON HAGGERTY JR.

PRISON TRUSTY WHO DROWNED IS IDENTIFIED

Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
July 4, 2007

Vernon Haggerty Jr. was identified as the Stringfellow inmate who drowned Tuesday while taking part in a prison K9-unit drill. Haggerty and another inmate were participating in a "routine training exercise" Tuesday when Haggerty fell into a creek and drowned, said Michelle Lyons, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman.

She said the trusties were "laying the track" for the search team to pick up when the accident occurred.

His body was recovered after several hours.

Lyons said Haggerty had moved to the Stringfellow unit on June 15 and had previously been at a prison in Amarillo. Haggerty had served 11 non-consecutive years in the prison system for burglary and robbery and first entered the prison system in 1992.

Prisoners must have a clean disciplinary history and be within a few years of parole eligibility to receive trusty status, Lyons said.

The next parole review for Haggerty, who was from Harrison County in northeast Texas, was scheduled for February 2009.

Lyons said TDCJ will conduct an investigation.

JOHN LOUIS KENNEY

PRISONER HANGS HIMSELF IN COUNTY JAIL

By Scott E. Williams
The Galveston Daily News

Published November 22, 2005

GALVESTON — Using the belt a jailer had returned to him more than an hour earlier, an island man hanged himself in his county cell, officials reported.

John Louis Kenney had been jailed in a reported domestic violence case Friday night in Galveston.

Kenney, 47, was being held under a $500 bond on a misdemeanor assault charge.

His body was found in his cell Sunday night.

Sheriff’s deputies described Kenney as “belligerent” when he was booked into the jail Saturday. He argued with staff members but was not violent, according to agency reports.

Kenney was last seen alive shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday when a guard checked in on his cell. Less than an hour later he was found dead.

As part of each prisoner’s mental health screening upon arrival at the jail, officials determine whether that prisoner is a suicide risk.

Prisoners who give any indication that they could be dangerous to themselves are secluded and supervised intensely to prevent them from hurting themselves.

Maj. Mike Henson, commander of the county jail, said Kenney gave no sign that he would harm himself.

Jail policy calls for the return of belts and shoelaces to short-term inmates who do not appear to be dangerous to themselves.

Henson said that policy would not likely change.

“This was a very sad situation, but it was an ano-maly,” Henson said. “Unfortunately, if someone is bound and determined to do that, they’re usually going to find a way to do it.”

The last suicide in the county jail was on Aug. 4, 2003. Like Kenney, Marc DePalma was 47, and like Kenney, he was facing Class C misdemeanor charges. DePalma hanged himself with his shoelaces.

Sheriff Gean Leonard said his agency’s criminal investigation division would look at all available videotape and other evidence to ensure no laws or policies were violated. Investigators with internal affairs would then review the same evidence and the original detectives’ findings.

“That does not mean we believe there was anything suspicious,” he said. “That’s standard procedure for any in-custody death just to ensure everything was handled properly.”

Additionally, Henson said, officials at the jail spent most of Monday reviewing their actions in the hours leading up to Kenney’s death.

JOHN ROBERT MORRIS

INMATE IS FOUND DEAD IN CELL

By Don Chance
Special to the Star-Telegram
Posted on Tue, Mar. 29, 2005

A man sentenced to a total of 119 years in prison Thursday was found dead in his cell at the Wise County Jail on Sunday, said Sgt. Debbie Denney of the Wise County Sheriff's Department.

Denney said that John Robert Morris, 35, who lived near Rhome, had apparently used a bedsheet to hang himself from the cell door handle.

"He was in segregation," Denney said. "They were calling [on the intercom] to see if he wanted to go to church service and didn't get any kind of response."

Denney said no one at the jail saw it happen, and an inmate in a nearby cell said he had heard nothing. Denney said Morris was discovered just before 2 p.m., and jail officers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Morris was taken to the Wise Regional Health Systems hospital, where he was pronounced dead by Justice of the Peace C.D. Archer.

Morris was convicted in Judge John Fostel's 271st District Court of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in 2001.

"Who knows what makes a person take their own life?" Fostel said. "He got a 99-year sentence on the aggravated sexual assault of a child, which is the max on that. And then he got a 20-year sentence on the indecency [charge]. At some point, he would certainly have been eligible for parole."

Jana Jones, Wise County district attorney, said she wasn't surprised to hear about Morris.

"He had made threats years ago to the victim and told her that if he were ever prosecuted, he would kill himself before he went to the pen," Jones said. "That was some time ago, but you have to take that seriously. So, because of that, and because he'd just been convicted, he was on a suicide watch."

Denney confirmed that, because he had just received the steep sentence, Morris was on "special" watch while awaiting transfer to Huntsville for processing and evaluation.

Wise County Sheriff David Walker said the last hanging at the jail took place more than a dozen years ago.

The death was reported to the Texas attorney general's office and the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, Walker said. Jailers who were upset were sent home and offered counseling, he said.

"Just because he's an inmate doesn't make it any easier, on the family or us," Walker said. "He's still a human, and it is upsetting."

Walker said that he and Texas Ranger Dwayne Dockery are investigating to make sure the appropriate procedures were followed.

Morris' family was not available for comment.

Funeral arrangements for Morris are pending at Coker Funeral Home in Decatur.

CHRISTOPHER WADE BRITTON

LIVINGSTON, TEXAS - A DEATH ROW INMATE WAS FOUND HANGING IN HIS CELL LAST WEEK.

Feb 8, 2005

Christopher Wade Britton, 30, was found dead Friday, Texas prison officials said Monday.

Guards found Britton about 17 minutes after a security check, shortly after noon Friday. They cut him down, placed him on a gurney and attempted CPR, but could not revive him.

Prison officials said the state Office of Inspector General is looking into the death.

Britton was convicted of fatally shooting a Hemphill County sheriff's deputy who was trying to serve an arrest warrant in June 2001. He arrived on death row in August 2002.

JAMES BYRON

JOHN YONGWOO KIM

DEATHS OF 2 AREA INMATES RULED AS SUICIDE, ACCIDENT

Autopsy report is still pending on a third prisoner who died while he was in custody

By RENÉE C. LEE
Sept. 21, 2007
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

CONROE — The death of a Montgomery County Jail inmate who hanged himself two weeks ago has been ruled a suicide and another inmate's death last month has been ruled an accidental drug overdose, according to autopsy reports.

The autopsies of Mitchell James Byron, 25, of Willis, and John Yongwoo Kim, 19, of Conroe, were conducted by the Southeast Texas Forensic Center in Conroe.

The forensic pathologist determined that Byron's cause of death was hanging, and Kim's cause of the death was a cocaine overdose.

Byron was pronounced dead Sept. 6 at Conroe Regional Medical Center, after being transferred from the jail earlier in the week.

Jailers found him hanging below a shower with a torn piece of bed sheet. The autopsy report described his injury as a dried, red-brown to brown tan ligature abrasion mark around his neck with a markedly upward angle.

Kim died Aug. 22 at the same hospital, a day after he was arrested during a traffic stop.

Toxicology test results showed that he tested positive for cocaine. When police arrested him, they found drugs in his car.

Autopsy reports are pending for a third jail inmate who died April 30. Elvis Joel Ramirez, 23, of Conroe, was transferred to Conroe Regional Medical Center after jailers found him not breathing in a holding cell April 29. He was pronounced dead the next day after he was taken off life support.

Ramirez had been arrested April 28 on charges of possession of a controlled substance and public intoxication.

The Texas Rangers continue to investigate the deaths of Kim and Ramirez.

DUSTIN MCVADE

PRISON DEATH PROBED IN MEDINA COUNTY

Web Posted: 09/15/2007 12:52 AM CDT
Express-News

State officials are investigating the death of an inmate at a state prison in Medina County 10 days ago, but foul play is not suspected. According to Stephen Collins, the warden of the medium security Torrez Unit, the inmate, Dustin McVade, 22, of Austin, died Sept. 4, while alone in his cell. He was serving time on an assault conviction. Collins said officials believe McVade died of asphyxiation but that it was accidental. "It's strictly preliminary. No autopsy results are in," he said. Collins said McVade was not depressed or in an emotional state before he died.

PEDRO GONZALES JR.

COURT TO HANDLE QUESTIONS ABOUT PRISONER'S DEATH

Family wants a judge to get two Pasadena officers to explain details involving the case

By ROBERT CROWE
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 24, 2007

Attorneys for Pedro Gonzales Jr.'s family have asked a judge to order two Pasadena police officers to answer their questions about the events leading to his death in a jail cell last month.

"We're filing this to bring the truth to light because the city has given multiple conflicting accounts and has failed ... to give full disclosure to the public of the actions of its officers," said Clyde "Jay" Jackson, an attorney representing Gonzales' wife, Diana.

Gonzales, 51, was found dead in a jail cell on July 21, about five hours after officers Christopher S. Jones and Jason W. Buckaloo arrested him between 2 and 2:30 a.m. on suspicion of public intoxication in the 1300 block of East Harris.

"It's really up to the court's discretion whether to allow" the depositions, said Greg Cagle, the officers' Texas Municipal Police Association attorney.

A judge could decide in the next two weeks whether to issue an order to depose officers, lawyers said.

FIFTH AMENDMENT QUESTION

The petition filed Friday in Harris County also seeks depositions from Pasadena jailers and the female 911 operator who took a call from a woman who reported that a man was beaten by officers at the time and location where Buckaloo and Jones arrested Gonzales.

Police have said the 911 operator told a supervisor about the call, but no one was sent to investigate the brutality allegation. "If there is a petition, we'll respond to it according to the rules and the controlling law," said Bill Helfand, the city of Pasadena's attorney.

The family has not filed a lawsuit.

If deposed, the officers could invoke Fifth Amendment rights not to incriminate themselves, said Richard Alderman, associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Houston Law Center. "You don't have to incriminate yourself, but that doesn't mean you don't have to talk about anything to do with a particular event," he said.

TEST RESULTS NOT RELEASED

Police initially said Gonzales suffered injuries by tripping and falling as officers escorted him to a patrol car.

Preliminary autopsy results, police said, indicated he died from a punctured lung caused by a bone splinter from a fractured rib. Final autopsy and toxicology results have not been made available.

Gonzales' family said it is odd that police released the man from the jail at about 1 a.m. on July 21 before Jones and Buckaloo re-arrested him, one hour later, less than a half-mile from the jail.

Gonzales' sister, Elvia Garza, has said police told her the morning of his death that he may have died from a heart attack or stroke. Pre-incision autopsy photos show multiple bruises, cuts and abrasions to various parts of Gonzales' body as well as what appear to be blood splatters on his jeans.

Other photos show that Gonzales' two top front teeth were missing. Family said those teeth were not missing before he was booked into the jail on July 18 for public intoxication.

ROSA CONTRERAS DOMINGUEZ

PREGNANT WOMAN DIES AT ICE DETENTION CENTER IN EL PASO

Associated Press
Aug. 9, 2007, 4:36AM

EL PASO — A pregnant woman in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement died after complaining of leg pain and losing consciousness, the agency said.

Rosa Contreras Dominguez, 38, was taken to an El Paso medical center Tuesday night when nurses noticed she was losing consciousness, said Leticia Zamarripa, a spokeswoman for the agency. She died about 3 1/2 hours after first complaining about pain behind her left knee, Zamarripa said.

Dominguez, a legal U.S. resident, arrived at the ICE detention center on Aug. 1 to begin deportation proceedings stemming from her conviction for importing 65 pounds of marijuana into the country, Zamarripa said.

Dominguez, who had already served an 18-month sentence in federal prison for the drug conviction, was given a medical exam when she arrived at the detention center and received constant medical attention for her pregnancy, Zamarripa said. Dominguez was taking prenatal medication.

"It's unfortunate, but as you can see, she was given proper medical attention when she requested it as well as when she was under observation," Zamarripa said.

Lizbeth Morales, Dominguez's niece, said Dominguez had been complaining about the pain in her leg since she was first detained. The family expected to receive an autopsy report today, Morales said.

The family feels that Dominguez, the mother of five children, didn't receive proper medical treatment while in custody, Morales said.

"They're still human beings, and they should be treated fairly," Morales said.

SCOT NOBLE PAYNE
LETISHA TAPIA

SUICIDE EXPOSES SQUALOR IN TEXAS PRISON

By JOHN MILLER
Associated Press Writer
Friday July 6, 2007 7:16 PM

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - After months alone in his cell, Scot Noble Payne finished 20 pages of letters, describing to loved ones the decrepit conditions of the prison where he was serving time for molesting a child.

Then Payne used a razor blade to slice two 3-inch gashes in his throat. Guards found his body in the cell's shower, with the water still running.

``Try to comfort my mum too and try to get her to see that I am truly happy again,'' he wrote his uncle. ``I tell you, it sure beats having water on the floor 24/7, a smelly pillow case, sheets with blood stains on them and a stinky towel that hasn't been changed since they caught me.''

Payne's suicide on March 4 came seven months after he was sent to the squalid privately run Texas prison by Idaho authorities trying to ease inmate overcrowding in their own state. His death exposed what had been Idaho's standard practice for dealing with inmates sent to out-of-state prisons: Out of sight, out of mind.

It also raised questions about a company hired to operate prisons in 15 states, despite reports of abusive guards and terrible sanitation.

Hundreds of pages of documents obtained by The Associated Press through an open-records request show Idaho did little monitoring of out-of-state inmates, despite repeated complaints from prisoners, their families and a prison inspector.

More than 140,000 U.S. prison beds are in private hands, and inmates' rights groups allege many such penitentiaries tolerate deplorable conditions and skimp on services to increase profits.

``They cut corners because the bottom line is making money,'' said Caylor Rolling, prison program director at Partnership for Safety and Justice in Portland, Ore., a group that promotes prison alternatives.

Payne, 43, was placed in solitary confinement because he escaped from the prison in December by scaling a fence and eluding capture for a week.

He was among Idaho inmates sent to the prison in Spur, Texas, run by a Florida-based company called the GEO Group. The business operates more than 50 prisons across the United States as well as in Australia and South Africa.

Soon after Payne's suicide, the Idaho Department of Correction's health care director inspected the prison and declared it the worst facility he had ever seen. Don Stockman called Payne's cell unacceptable and the rest of the Dickens County Correctional Center ``beyond repair.''

``The physical environment ... would have only enhanced the inmate's depression that could have been a major contributing factor in his suicide,'' he wrote in a report on Payne's death.

Stockman said the warden at Dickens ruled ``based on verbal and physical intimidation'' and that guards showed no concern for the living conditions.

After Idaho's complaints, GEO reassigned warden Ron Alford, who told the AP he was later fired. He insisted GEO did not provide enough money to make necessary improvements.

``They denied me everything. To buy a pencil with GEO, it took three signatures. They're cheap,'' Alford said in an interview. He disputes Stockman's findings on his treatment of Idaho inmates.

GEO spokesman Pablo Paez declined to comment on Alford's performance and would say only that the company had been working to address Idaho officials' concerns. But on Thursday, the state announced plans to move 125 inmates from Dickens to other facilities, citing the poor living conditions.

The private prison business has been booming as the federal government seeks space to house more criminals and illegal immigrants.

``Sometimes it may be a better situation for the inmates, and sometimes it's not,'' said prison consultant Douglas Lansing, a former warden at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fort Dix, N.J. ``Monitoring is a vital component. You can't just move them out of town and forget them.''

That appears to be largely what happened with Idaho's inmates. The prisoners were sent to Dickens in August from another GEO-run Texas prison after complaints about abuse by guards.

But in the following seven months, Idaho sent an inspector to Texas only once. That inspection found major problems, including virtually no substance-abuse treatment, and a complete lack of Idaho-sanctioned anger-management classes and pre-release programs.

There's no evidence the inspector's recommendations were followed. And no one from Idaho visited the prison again until after Payne's suicide.

Most of the time, the Idaho prison employee responsible for monitoring the GEO contract used only the telephone and e-mail to handle grievances, which also included complaints about inadequate church services, poor food and limited recreation time.

Each time, Alford insisted everything was under control, according to correspondence reviewed by the AP.

The new director of the Idaho prison system concedes his department did not adequately review the inmates' treatment when he took office in January.

``If I had to do it over again, I would have,'' Director Brent Reinke said.

Former Director Vaughn Killeen said he couldn't afford more aggressive monitoring during his term that ended in December.

``We weren't happy about the things that were going on down there,'' Killeen said. ``We didn't have that level of budget to accommodate full-time monitors.''

Some other states are more vigilant. Washington state, for instance, has 1,000 inmates in Arizona and Minnesota and places full-time inspectors at the prisons. A superintendent visits every six weeks.

Problems with GEO prisons are not limited to Dickens.

Elsewhere in Texas, a female inmate's family sued GEO in 2006 after she committed suicide at the Val Verde County Jail near the Mexican border. LeTisha Tapia alleged she was raped by another inmate and sexually humiliated by a GEO guard after reporting to the warden that guards allowed male and female inmates to have sex.

In March, an investigation into sex abuse allegations at another GEO- run Texas prison led to the firing of a guard who was a convicted sex offender.

And at GEO prisons in Illinois and Indiana, hundreds of inmates rioted this past spring.

The complaints have not hurt the company's balance sheet. It reported profits of $30 million in 2006, four times the amount reported in 2005.

Inmates at Dickens say conditions have improved since Payne's suicide.

Hot and cold water problems have been fixed, and cleanliness was judged ``adequate,'' according to a May 31 report by a new Idaho contract monitor.

But prisoners still complain about sewage from adjacent cells, poor medical and dental care, and a lack of educational programs. Inmates like Robert Coulter, who was convicted of robbery, say authorities should have acted sooner.

``They basically put us down here and just dumped us,'' he said.

CONTACT IDAHO GOVERNOR

WILLIAM ROBINSON
JESUS FLORES

TEXAS DEATH ROW INMATE COMMITS SUICIDE

By LIZ AUSTIN PETERSON
Associated Press Writer
Posted on Mon, Feb. 04, 2008

HOUSTON --A convicted murderer awaiting execution killed himself in his cell at a psychiatric center just three days after another condemned man on Texas' death row did the same, prison officials said Monday.

William Robinson, 49, used a sheet to hang himself from a vent, Texas Department Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said.

Only eight other condemned killers have committed suicide since death row reopened in 1974, including Jesus Flores, who killed himself Jan. 29.

Robinson, who was sentenced to death for a 1985 murder, had been held at the Jester IV psychiatric facility in Richmond since September and had spent time there periodically throughout his years on death row, Lyons said.

Officers found Robinson hanging at about 5 a.m., Lyons said. They cut the sheet and performed CPR; he was taken to a hospital alive but unresponsive and was put on life support.

Robinson's mother decided to cut off life support after doctors said he was most likely brain dead, Lyons said.

Lyons said privacy laws prevented her from discussing Robinson's medical records, but she said he did injure himself with a razor in 2006.

Michael Charlton, Robinson's former attorney, said Robinson had paranoid schizophrenia and had repeatedly attempted suicide.

"Despite years of that history, to leave William unsupervised and not on a suicide watch to me, it's just appalling," Charlton said. Lyons said officers at Jester IV routinely check on inmates every 15 minutes.

It took a jury just 11 minutes to convict Robinson of capital murder for the shooting death of 26-year-old Steven Michael Creasey in a Houston apartment complex.

According to prosecutors, Robinson and two other men robbed Creasey and a female friend, then tried to abduct the woman. Creasey was shot between the eyes when he tried to help her.

The woman told police she was raped for hours by all three men before she was released.

Prosecutors said Robinson had just gotten out of prison after serving seven years for robbery when Creasey was murdered. The killing was part of a crime spree that also included a carjacking and the robbery of three men, a shoe store, and a bus driver.

Robinson admitted to raping the woman but said his co-defendent killed Creasey. In state and federal appeals that were pending when he died, attorneys for Robinson claimed he was mentally retarded and was not sufficiently represented his trial.

JOSE SANTANA

AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATING APPARENT INMATE SUICIDE

Posted on Tue, Jan. 27, 2004
Associated Press

HEREFORD, Texas - Authorities are investigating the death of a 56- year-old Deaf Smith County jail inmate found hanged in his cell this week.

Sheriff Brent Harrison said Jose Santana was not on suicide watch and had given no indication he might take his own life. The sheriff said cells are checked every hour or more frequently.

"Cell checks were all within policy and standards. This was one of those things where a lot of things went into making this happen," Harrison said.

Santana, who was alone in the cell, apparently used an electric cord from a water heating device to hang himself from the bars. He was found shortly after 11 a.m. Monday. No other inmates were in the cell.

His body was taken to the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in Lubbock for an autopsy.

Santana has been in custody since March 25, 2003, when he and two other men were arrested near the Oldham County line, and 29 kilograms of cocaine were seized.

The two others remain in custody.

State charges against all three were dropped. Harrison said federal charges were pending, and they were being detained by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

KIMBERLEY HUMPHRIES

HARRIS COUNTY JAIL DEATHS

COUNTY JAIL DEATHS ON PACE TO DOUBLE '06 TOTAL

In one of 11 fatalities this year, family says inmate didn't get adequate medical care

By STEVE MCVICKER
April 8, 2007, 1:12AM
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Number of inmates who have died since 2001 Through the first three months of the year, the number of Harris County Jail prisoners who have died in custody is on pace to double the total for all of 2006, according to sheriff's office records.

Eleven deaths occurred in the first quarter of this year, compared with the 22 recorded in 2006. Last year's total was the jail's highest since the same number was recorded in 2002.

In at least one of this year's cases, the prisoner's family thinks she did not receive adequate care.

"She kept trying to get medical treatment, trying to get them to help," said Gloria Humphries, whose sister, Kimberley Humphries, died Jan. 23 after suffering complications from an apparent staph infection.

The Houston Chronicle requested, by e-mail Thursday morning, a comment from Harris County Sheriff Tommy Thomas. A spokesman said Friday afternoon that Thomas was out of town and unavailable for comment until Monday.

However, in a recent letter to the Chronicle, which the paper published, Thomas wrote that "while we strive to prevent — and sincerely regret — every death in custody, the sad fact is that not every death is preventable. We believe that we provide exemplary health care. Nevertheless, we continually search for ways to improve the delivery of medical services within our facilities and to lessen the challenges inherent in such an environment."

The Chronicle reported in February that at least 101 prisoners died in county jail custody from 2001 through 2006 — an average of almost 17 per year. At the time of their deaths, at least 72 had not been convicted of the charges that led to their incarceration. Of the 11 who have died in custody this year, five were awaiting adjudication.

The number of deaths thus far this year has the attention of the state agency that oversees jails.

"I think they raise a concern to anyone, whether it be the Texas Commission on Jail Standards or local officials," said Adan Muñoz, the commission's executive director. "However, I would (qualify) that with, 'What is the cause of death?' "

The county medical examiner's office has completed autopsies in three of this year's deaths, ruling that they resulted from natural causes. Similarly, none of the records reviewed concluded that jail employees contributed directly to the 101 deaths from 2001 through 2006.

However, the Chronicle found that in at least 13 cases, relatives or documents raised questions over whether the prisoners received needed medications.

Eleven of the deaths involved infections and illnesses suggesting sanitation problems. In 10 cases, county records suggested possible neglect by jail workers.

Crowding issues raised

In each of the past three years, the jail commission has found the county jail in noncompliance with Texas jail standards, primarily for conditions related to crowding. A state inspector concluded in 2005 that those conditions led to "safety" and "sanitation" issues.

The family of Kimberley Humphries thinks sanitation and inadequate medical care may have been factors in her January death.

Humphries, 41, was jailed Oct. 29 on a charge of driving while intoxicated. It was her third DWI arrest since 1993, and records show she also faced a drug charge in another county.

Humphries' jail medical records state that she had received two kidney transplants — at age 8 and again 11 or 16 years later, depending upon which entry in her jail medical log is correct. She also had contracted hepatitis B when she was 9, according to records. The death report states that Humphries claimed to suffer from depression and alcoholism.

According to her sister and jail records, Humphries was in relatively good health when she was jailed, with low blood pressure and normal temperature. However, her file included a notation that she had complained about not receiving her renal medication.

Jail medical records show that Humphries complained of "chronic itching" Dec. 3. Eight days later, she was given a prescription for Benadryl.

A cellmate's alert

In late December, Gloria Humphries says, she got a call from one of her sister's cellmates.

"She said that Kimberley had a fever, wasn't feeling well, was sleeping a lot and was having trouble urinating," Gloria Humphries said. Jail records support the cellmate's report. On Dec. 28, Humphries was sent to the jail's medical clinic, where it was noted that she had a lime-size boil under her right arm. The diagnosis was a cellulitis abscess.

She was given antibacterial and anti-swelling medication and sent back to her cell.

According to the Mayo Clinic's Web site, cellulitis "may affect the tissues underlying your skin and can spread to your lymph nodes and bloodstream. Left untreated, the spreading bacterial infection may rapidly turn into a life-threatening condition."

The day after receiving medication, Humphries complained that she had an upset stomach and had not urinated all day, records state. After receiving a different antibiotic and having a catheter inserted, she urinated several times later that day, records show.

"She called me and said that she was so weak," said Gloria Humphries. "I told her that there was no way they were going to let anything happen to her. I was just naive — very, very naive."

Humphries' condition worsened. Records state that, on Dec. 30, the pain and swelling had increased and that yellow pus was draining from under her right arm. She was taken to LBJ Hospital by ambulance that day because of what jail records list as a staph infection.

Rapid onset

According to Dr. Edward R. Rensimer, a Houston infectious-disease expert, staphylococcus aureus, or staph, is an extremely fast-acting infection.

"It manifests itself within hours," Rensimer said. "And once it's in the bloodstream, it's off to the races."

Humphries died after 24 days at LBJ Hospital. Jail records show the hospital attributed her death to respiratory failure.

Humphries' autopsy report has not been completed. However, notes by a medical examiner's investigator state that by the time Humphries was admitted to the hospital, she was septic and in renal failure.

Asked about the protocol for dealing with staph outbreaks, a sheriff's office official cited the department's infection-control manual. However, staph is not listed among the diseases or infections that the county is required to report to health officials, according to the manual.

In the case of most outbreaks, employees are instructed to contact the department's infection-control nurse. Without mentioning any specific infection, the document also says that any inmate who has an infection "must be placed in isolation in accordance with the Infection Control Isolation Policies and Procedures."

The manual also states that employees who come in contact with an inmate with an infection will be removed from further inmate contact "until the infection is resolved" and that personal medical precautions should be taken.

Records show that, between January 2001 and April 2005, 60 medical quarantines were enacted at the jail and at least two were related to staph infections. The causes of 11 others were not listed.

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