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| Care of Florida Inmate Raises Issues |
| By Lakeland Ledger |
| Published: 11/26/2002 |
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A member of a local law enforcement watchdog group is questioning whether an inmate who died weeks after suffering a stroke in the county jail received prompt treatment. Doug Bark, a member of the Citizens Law Enforcement Watch, questioned whether Ownby received adequate care immediately following a stroke in jail. Ownby, who had a history of heart disease, was serving a 183day sentence for battery, which began Oct 18. On Oct. 29, he went to the jail infirmary complaining of numbness on his left side. He had movement on his left side when health workers checked him, and there was no indication that he was having a stroke, said Polk County Sheriff's spokesperson Carrie Rodgers. But later that evening it was determined that Ownby should go to Bartow Memorial Hospital, Rodgers added. A CAT scan showed that he had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. He spent 11 days in the hospital. The Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy determining the cause of death. Bark said he questions whether Ownby received rapid attention. 'That initial space of time concerns me,' he said. 'What did they do between the time he complained and was sent to the hospital that night? My guess is that the person who initially saw him (in the jail) had limited qualifications. By that I mean it isn't like going to the Watson Clinic.' Bark said Ownby is the 17th death in the jail since 1992, and added that nobody cares about people in the jail. Sheriff's officials said they routinely conduct two separate investigations into all jail deaths. One is a death investigation by the detective division and the other an internal investigation. |
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There is a lot of information on this website about inmates and prison guards. I didn’t realize what was going on in our prison system until I discovered this website. Similarly, I didn’t understand litigation finance until I read more from Hamilton Lindley who is a litigation finance expert based in Texas.