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| Inmate's death still mysterious |
| By Tallahassee Democrat |
| Published: 02/16/2004 |
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The criminal investigation into an inmate's death at the Leon County (Fla.) Jail last year has been closed. Detectives' conclusion: They still aren't sure how 39-year-old Ruth Hubbs received a toxic amount of prescription antidepressants from the jail's infirmary. The Leon County Sheriff's Office reported finding no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by jail staff and no evidence of suicide. Beyond that, detectives can't say exactly what happened. Meanwhile, the state Department of Health is investigating the medical care Hubbs received while in the jail - including allegations that the private company contracted to run the infirmary removed documents from her medical records after she died. The Sheriff's Office and Prison Health Services, the private contractor, each have been adamant that they bear no responsibility for Hubbs' death. Hubbs, who was in jail awaiting sentencing on a burglary charge, was found dead March 16 in the jail's medical unit, where she'd been sent by corrections officers who reported she was disoriented and hallucinating. An autopsy revealed fatally high levels of the antidepressant doxepin in her system. While the Medical Examiner's Office didn't officially declare that the cause of death, it was the most likely culprit, according to reports. Detectives were left to figure out how she'd taken so much of the drug, which was prescribed and given to her each day by the jail's medical staff. They came up empty. With the Sheriff's Office case now closed, the only other investigation into the death is being conducted by the Department of Health. State law prohibits the department from even acknowledging an investigation while it's open - a DOH spokeswoman declined to comment last Wednesday - but the probe is mentioned twice in Sheriff's Office records. Both times, detectives reported that the state investigator thought at least two documents had been removed from Hubbs' medical file at the jail after she died. It is not clear what information the missing records were alleged to have contained. |
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