Larry Price Jr., was unhoused and in the midst of a mental health crisis when he was arrested at an Arkansas police station in 2021.
, and watchdogs, reform groups and lawmakers have noted long-standing problems with collecting accurate data.
In August of 2020, Price walked into a police station in Fort Smith, Ark., and began acting erratically, at one point mimicking shooting a gun with his fingers and verbally threatening officers, according to the complaint.Family said he was well-known to those in the community and would bounce around between shelters, sometimes visiting an aunt who lived in the area for a meal or shower. Price’s brother, who lives in California, would call and check on him to keep tabs on his whereabouts.
The Sebastian County Jail did not respond to questions about the Price's claim or clarify protocol for next of kin seeking to share information with detainees. According to the complaint, staff logged more than 4,000 entries for well-being checks between Aug. 1 and Aug. 29, 2021, when he died with the same entry, “Inmate and Cell OK.” Ten more identical entries were logged after Price had been pronounced dead.Timothy Edgemon, an assistant professor of sociology and criminology who studies corrections at Auburn University said there are established standards of care for detainees and prisoners in the corrections system.
Edgemon said. “In an ideal system, we’d have another space designed to handle someone who’s that much in need of help.”Rural jails are especially ill-equipped to handle mentally ill populations, Edgemon added. In the past decade, some jurisdictions have established so-called mental health courts where the court can identify forms of treatment not typically available through a local jail system.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
$100 Billion Crypto Price Boom Sees These Coins Leave Bitcoin And Ethereum In The DustBitcoin's and ethereum's gains pale in comparison to the rallies seen by some smaller cryptocurrencies this week...
Read more »
Starved to death in an American jail, the man who couldn't pay $100 bailPrice, a developmentally disabled and severely mentally ill man, died of malnutrition and dehydration inside an Arkansas jail.
Read more »
Save Over $100 On This 7th-Gen iPadSave over $100 on this 7th-gen iPad!
Read more »
Tim Cook asked Apple to cut his pay after making nearly $100 million last yearLast year, Cook's total compensation was $99.4 million, including a $3 million salary, about $83 million in stock awards, and $13.4 million in other awards.
Read more »