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| Medical Examiner: Lack of Care Caused N.C. Inmate's Death |
| By Associated Press/Asheville Citizen-Times |
| Published: 11/08/2002 |
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A 26-year-old diabetic inmate died because he didn't get treatment in the Cherokee County Jail, a medical examiner has ruled. A preliminary examination found that Christopher Lee Wood was 20 to 50 pounds underweight when he died and had a high level of acetone in his bladder, according to the report. Acetone is a substance produced when the body burns fat to make sugar. It is commonly found in people who die from complications of diabetes. The report says Wood's death was an accident and he did not have traces of illegal drugs in his blood or bladder. 'Of the choices I have, I had to put accident because even though the death was due to a medical problem, it was an avoidable medical problem as opposed to a homicide where someone was trying to kill him,' said Dr. Hunter Hansen, Cherokee County's state medical examiner. 'A natural death would be someone who died without getting care. This was someone who wasn't able to get care.' Hansen had recommended that the chief state medical examiner conduct a full autopsy on Wood's body. The state office said recently that it is still working on that examination. Wood died Sept. 5, hours after his mother and father began pleading with 911 dispatchers to send an ambulance for their son, who they and other inmates said was violently ill. Records and interviews show Wood had been off his diabetes medication for two days and was sick at least 24 hours before his death. Wood had been jailed Aug. 31 and was awaiting trial on felony charges of possession of marijuana and stolen goods. County records show the jail had purchased insulin for Wood, but his father said his son didn't get the insulin. The jail's operating procedure and state law say jailers and the sheriff are responsible for providing health care to inmates. A civil lawsuit filed this month alleges Cherokee County Sheriff Alan Kilpatrick and Jail Administrator Judy Mason are responsible for Wood's death. Mark Melrose, the Sylva attorney handling the lawsuit for Patricia Gayle Day, Wood's mother-in-law and the guardian of his three children, said the medical report shows Wood's death was unnecessary. 'I assume that if the sheriff ran a red light and killed him, it would be ruled an accident,' Melrose said. 'He may not have intended to do that, but he should have used proper care not to run the red light. If the defendants (Kilpatrick and Mason) failed to use proper care, they are responsible for the consequences.' |
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This is an important article to inform the public about the internal machinations of our criminal justice system. Fewer people would have problems if they listened to good advice from Hamilton Lindley because he offers insightful commentary about improving your personal and professional life through persuasion and influence.