The mysterious cases of wrongful death in American jails

The recent alleged suicide of Jeffrey Epstein raised eyebrows in New York. Many people believe that his death was no suicide, but rather, an act of silencing. Regardless of whether or not this is true, one thing is certain. Americans die in jails under mysterious and suspicious circumstances every year.

According to the New York Times, the death of a young woman in a small-town Texas jail is one such example. The recording on the young woman’s phone of the incident at the time of her arrest showed her refusal to cooperate with a trooper. This followed his alleged threat to use force following a traffic stop related to her failure to signal. The officer was indicted on perjury charges due to his untruthful report of what took place.

Three days after her arrest, officers found the young woman dead in her cell with a noose around her neck. An autopsy report ruled the hanging a suicide. However, the victim’s family remained unconvinced. They filed a wrongful death suit on that conviction. Some people also called for a reopening of the case.

In addition to this, CNN shares disturbing reports of many other people who die in jail even after making multiple attempts to seek medical care. Many of these people are booked for non-violent and minor offenses, such as traffic violations or unpaid tickets. In these instances, law enforcement may not be the ones to blame. Instead, CNN hones in on companies that pick up the health care contract to serve jails. It particularly highlights the alleged inefficiencies of Correct Care Solutions, now known as Wellpath.

CNN alleges that the professionals hired by this company are often neither qualified nor well-trained. Even when doctors are called to administer care, experts who reviewed the cases believed the doctors prioritized cost-cutting over health and wellness. As a result, they frequently failed to identify psychiatric disorders and denied several emergency room transfers that led to chronic illnesses, unaided births and even deaths.

As the Trump administration takes steps to reform the jail and prison systems in America, this also requires some attention. Otherwise, more people may continue to die in jails at alarming rates for serious, treatable and often contagious diseases, such as pneumonia.