At Least Five Black Woman Found Dead In Jail Since Mid-July

[ghostsinthemachine]

On Monday morning, police in Mount Vernon, New York discovered a 44-year-old woman dead in her cell. She is the fifth black woman, at least, to die behind bars this month.

According to Mayor Earnest Davis, Raynetta Turner was arrested and locked in a holding cell Saturday afternoon on shoplifting charges. Some time after her arrest, Turner informed Westchester County police that she had numerous medical problems, and was eventually brought to Montefiore-Mount Vernon Hospital Sunday evening. She returned to the holding cell briefly that night, before she was taken for fingerprinting at 2 a.m. She was found dead 12 hours later.

The mayor has since explained that Turner’s medical history included hypertension and bariatric surgery. No official cause of death has been determined.

But her death follows at least four other deaths of black women in police custody since July 13, shining an even brighter spotlight on the plight of black women in the criminal justice system and fueling the Black Lives Matter movement. On that date, Sandra Bland was found hanging in her cell, three days after she was violently stopped for failing to signal a lane change in Waller County, Texas. The next day, 18-year-old Kindra Chapman committed suicide in an Alabama prison. She was arrested for stealing a cell phone. Joyce Curnell was arrested on shoplifting charges and found dead in her cell on July 24. On July 26, officers found Ralkina Jones dead in the Cleveland Heights City Jail, two days after she was arrested for a physical dispute with her husband. Like Turner, she was brought to a medical facility after a staff member observed Jones was lethargic — then returned to the jail. Prison officials say they conducted several check ups on the night she returned, but found her unresponsive around 7:30 the next morning. An investigation is currently under way.


http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/07/28/3685435/fourth-black-woman-found-dead-jail-cell-since-mid-july/

[NJCher]

1. thanks for posting this

I'm recommending it to my students as a potential research paper topic.

This shouldn't be shocking, but it is.


Cher

[redruddyred]

16. don't you mean

"this should be shocking, but it's not"

[sabrina 1]

2. Shameful. Shameful is the only printable word I can use for this. Where is the Federal Govt

on the non-stop killing of AAs in this country?

I read somewhere today that AAs need PROTECTION Now from the US so-called 'Civilian Police' and I would include our cruel Prison system.

None of those women should have been in jail, nor would they IF they were wealthy, are you kidding me? And IF they were not AA.

I experienced the shocking cruelty of our Prison system when a friend ended up in one of these jails and went to an attorney to try to get something done about helping to get him his medication, without which he was likely to die. The prison personnel were ANGRY when asked to get the medication to him before something happened. He was another non-violent POOR person in there for one year for a traffic/probation related 'crime'.

The lawyer told me 'come back when he dies'! What? Yes, he said, if you do anything right now while he's in there, HE will suffer the consequences.

He said it so dismissively, as if this was NORMAL.

Since then I know that it is normal. OUR normal.

People did die in that horrific place. No one ever even heard about it, THAT is how 'normal' our cruel system of 'justice' is for the poor and for minorities.

There have been calls now for the Federal Govt to PROTECT its citizens from our own police and some believe that maybe AAs especially need to appeal to the International Community. We may need UN Peace Keepers here to stop this slaughter. It is simply outrageous, and yet, where is the OUTRAGE?

[Horse with no Name]

8. A friend of mine was a Jail Nurse

and a woman was incarcerated several months for hot checks. She was a single mother scraping by. Anyway, while she was in jail, she started having very heavy periods with clots, debilitating cramps, and some other symptoms. My friend begged the Jail doctor to please send her out for treatment--they didn't. Anyway, she served another 6 months in jail after these symptoms started. Turns out she had advanced ovarian cancer. It was too late to do anything when she got out.
While they didn't physically kill her in jail--their lack of treatment did.
It was very sad.
My friend left her job. Said she just couldn't do it.

[sabrina 1]

11. Horrible, and if I didn't witness it myself, I would not believe it. There was on nurse

in that place who was human, everyone else had some serious issues, a total lack of empathy, even for children. I imagine those are the traits that are looked for to work in our inhumane prison system. I could not work there either.

It is a cruel, horrible heartless system staffed by people who themselves are borderline criminals.

We so need a complete reform of the entire judicial system. Our prisons are among the most inhumane in the world.

Something has gone very wrong here. And AAs have every reason to fear the police.

So what can be done about it? Our Government writes 'reports' and that's it and while they are 'investigating' only when one of these murders gets some attention, more are dying.

I also believe it is the way they want it to be. Otherwise something WOULD be done about it.

This is a very dangerous place for AAs to live. I doubt the government will protect the lives of AAs from the police.

So maybe as a community, AAs need to appeal to the International community for help. But something needs to be done.

I've been following the murder of AAs by cops for nearly a decade now on sites that try to keep track of these killings.

To say it is shocking, is putting it mildly.

But even here, where the past couple of weeks we had so many who claimed to be 'concerned' about AAs, threads like this get little attention, unless they can be used for some political purpose.

[Horse with no Name]

13. I can't imagine being AA and having to live in fear

from criminals, from racists, from police....I can't imagine a life such as that.
All because of skin color.

Today I was traveling and a sheriff pulled up behind me at a rapid speed. I'm lily white but I made damned sure I put my signal on before I changed lanes.

There isn't any reason for them to do this but it is common practice in Texas for them to do it. At least in the smaller rural communities.

[sabrina 1]

34. I can't imagine either and no citizen should have to live in such fear.

Something has to be done, our police are killing hundreds of Americans, I believe more than 500 since the beginning of this year. And our media doesn't even talk about it. And we still have months to go.

I don't get the complacency of those in power. They can't say they don't know about it.

Good for you for not giving them a reason to stop you. I think I would be scared of them now, and they should not be doing that, but again, who is going to stop them? They are out of control

[Horse with no Name]

35. Normally I would have just stayed where I was

I was driving the speed limit and the road was ready to merge from a 2-lane into a 1-lane.

But around here they drive these huge trucks and he was just bearing down on me....without his lights on, so I moved.

It's a shame that we feel this way about those that are "to protect and serve", but they terrify me.

[delrem]

12. A crime against persons, contradicting the real human nature.

I was just rushed into emergency a couple days ago.
It was a real circus with people of all races, classes and what have you, standing in successive lines.
It was FAST. It was polite all around - everyone polite with everyone appreciative of the doctors and nurses and staff.
The actual personal attention and resolution was only a few minutes - it was triage and I got dealt with easily. In my turn.

That should be universal and if jailors don't get it along with everyone else there's something terribly wrong.
It makes for such a waste of what could be. And for nothing but death and misery.

ETA: that was under Canada's universal health care system. Yup, I was equal to everyone else in there, even persons declared "homeless" and "destitute".

[sabrina 1]

32. You are so lucky to live in a civilized country. Same thing in many European

countries, when people are sick, they are treated without question and without worrying about the bills.

Our prison system is among the worst in the world. Anyone who has not observed it would find it hard to believe. You do NOT want to be POOR and end up in a jail cell in this country. Your chances of getting out decrease the longer you cannot come up with bail, eg, if you DARE to get upset and even ask why you are there, you are likely to get MORE time, be put in isolation, or whatever 'punishment' those in charge decide is appropriate.

And if you are a minority, well, you see what happens for a minor charge. You can and often do end up dead.

America should be ashamed. The rest of the Civilized World should step in at this point. Because it's clear our own government is not going to do it.

[Enthusiast]

28. That is horrible!

American exceptionalism.

[cwydro]

27. My question too. Where are President Obama

and Loretta Lynch?

BLM is protesting candidates who have no power at this point, but Obama and Lynch are apparently given a pass.

Makes no sense to me.

[Uncle Joe]

3. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, ghostsinthemachine.

[Agschmid]

4. Kicked.

Should be required reading.

[jwirr]

5. K&R

[libodem]

6. .

[WillyT]

7. K & R !!!

[stevenleser]

9. This is an example of why African Americans don't want their issues generically lumped in with

Economic fairness.

[delrem]

10. No, really it isn't. It stands on its own.

You're beating a dead horse.

[sabrina 1]

14. Why are you trying to politicize this egregious horror? THIS is NOT what this long time, since I've

been following the murder of AAs by cops, for over a decade and a half, murderous criminal behavior is about.

And you are WRONG besides. Money in this country is POWER. Not one of those women would have been in jail had they had MONEY. They would have been bailed OUT. And they would have been treated for their medical issues, WHICH DOESN'T HAPPEN in our draconian system which is filled with the poor and minorities who are poor.


Ever work or volunteer in a prison here?

AAs, other minorities and poor whites POPULATE our prison system. Because they do not have the MEANS to defend themselves from this horrific system.

Try getting arrested for something minor, and not having the $200 bail money. I saw what happens when people are POOR.

AND I saw what happens for the same 'crimes' when people are RICH.

Why would ANYONE want to deny AAs the POWER that money provides against a system stacked against them already, but especially so when they are without financial equality.

I despise turning this horror into a political football.

AAs are clearly in need of protection from the US Government. THAT is the first step that needs to be taken.


Then the entire system that is in place to KEEP minorities from having the POWER that money would provide, needs to be torn down along with the system of 'justice', the police, the JUDGES in many cases, as in the Sandra Bland case, totally taken apart and rebuilt from the top down.

And please, do NOT turn this into a personal agenda for political purposes. These are people, I have been to prisons and know the devastating despair of knowing that if only someone would come up some money, they do not need to be there.

Sandra Bland would be alive right now, as would these five women, IF she had been able to post bail.

[delrem]

15. What you say. Too bad I can't rec this, because then for sure I'd be first.

[sabrina 1]

17. I am getting sick to death of politics. All it does is TALK, especially during election season.

Issues like this didn't just start a couple of months ago. I see very little interest on partisan political forums in this horror of a system we call a 'justice system' UNLESS it can be used for political purposes.

Which is why I rarely even discuss it here. I go elsewhere for that, because if you make any statement that someone MIGHT think is going to make THEIR favorite politician look bad, watch out, you'll find yourself arguing about something else altogether. See this post eg.

And then when the election is over, nothing happens, it won't even be discussed, post a thread about it, and it will drop like a rock in favor of 'what Ann Coulter said today'.

This thread was about a terrible tragedy, caused by our criminal justice system, until someone had to try to turn it into politics.

I am convinced now that politics solves nothing. When wrongs are set right, it is usually because of ordinary people with no particular interest in politics.

When we do find some good politicians they will be smeared, attacked and run out of office.

Gay rights, eg, never would have even been addressed were not for Gays themselves taking their case to courts, not depending on politicians to do so.

And even when they won in court, it was politicians who tried to get those rulings overturned, see the Gays in the Military ruling in favor of Gays when a judge ruled DADT to be unconstitutional. Rather than just accept it, the DOJ under this administration went to court to try to have it overturned.

Maybe we the people need to just do what we can to try to change things, because they will never allow decent politicians to win, and those who do win, will make sure to maintain their very profitable status quo.

We've had decades to fix what happened to these women politically.

I'm for finding a way to enrich as many of the poor as possible, which is the only way these kinds of crimes won't happen. How to do that, I have no idea.

Lol, I'll PM you so you can get there before anyone else next time.

[delrem]

20. Well, don't expect them ever to be ashamed. nt

[sabrina 1]

21. I don't, they are irrelevant when it comes to real people and real issues, to them it's

only about 'winning', not for the people of course.

[daleanime]

26. Amen.....

[artislife]

30. Not enough money to post $200 bail

This is America.



Jail is going to be one of the top causes of death.

[sabrina 1]

31. Yes, and it's astonishing to me to see people arguing AGAINST empowering

poor people, especially AAs who are the MOST threatened and most vulnerable when it comes to our system of 'justice' by ensuring that all Americans have equal access to economic empowerment.

It simply boggles the mind, to claim to be supportive of equality EXCEPT economic equality. Someone needs to explain it to me because it makes zero sense.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

18. I am so glad Black Lives Matter is tracking this now....

They never could have done it, or passed on the results to the public at large prior to the Intertubes.

[redruddyred]

19. re: the woman arrested after getting beaten up by her husband

actually, I don't have anything to add.
I wish I knew how I could help.

[awoke_in_2003]

22. I hate to rec, but will for exposure

for every one of these charges, I, a middle aged white male, would be released on his own recognizance

[AtomicKitten]

23. omfg. first sunshine, then prosecutions.

[enough]

24. Morning k&r. (nt)

[LiberalElite]

25. K&R

can't let this sink!

[Enthusiast]

29. Kicked and recommended to the Max!

This must end!

[niyad]

33. it is beyong obscene