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Man accused of stealing $5 in snacks died in jail as he waited for space at mental hospital
Man accused of stealing $5 in snacks died in jail as he waited for space at mental hospitalPublic Safety
By Justin Jouvenal September 29 at 1:11 PM
Jamycheal Mitchell had stopped taking his schizophrenia medication before he walked into a 7-Eleven near his family’s Portsmouth, Va., home in April and allegedly stole a Mountain Dew, a Snickers bar and a Zebra Cake totaling $5.05.
After the 24-year-old’s arrest, a judge ordered him to a state psychiatric hospital to get help. But like an increasing number of the mentally ill, he sat in jail for months as he waited for a bed to open.
Other inmates said Mitchell paced naked in a cell often covered in his own filth. Family members said they were told he sometimes refused to eat or take medication, and jail records show he manically yelled. He grew gaunt, and by Aug. 19 he was dead, having shed at least 36 pounds.
A state medical examiner has yet to report a cause of death, and police are investigating Mitchell’s case, but his family and civil rights and mental health advocates are outraged that he was allowed to waste away over a $5 misdemeanor. Jail officials denied any wrongdoing, saying Mitchell was fed regularly and was seen by a nurse.
....
By Justin Jouvenal September 29 at 1:11 PM
Jamycheal Mitchell had stopped taking his schizophrenia medication before he walked into a 7-Eleven near his family’s Portsmouth, Va., home in April and allegedly stole a Mountain Dew, a Snickers bar and a Zebra Cake totaling $5.05.
After the 24-year-old’s arrest, a judge ordered him to a state psychiatric hospital to get help. But like an increasing number of the mentally ill, he sat in jail for months as he waited for a bed to open.
Other inmates said Mitchell paced naked in a cell often covered in his own filth. Family members said they were told he sometimes refused to eat or take medication, and jail records show he manically yelled. He grew gaunt, and by Aug. 19 he was dead, having shed at least 36 pounds.
A state medical examiner has yet to report a cause of death, and police are investigating Mitchell’s case, but his family and civil rights and mental health advocates are outraged that he was allowed to waste away over a $5 misdemeanor. Jail officials denied any wrongdoing, saying Mitchell was fed regularly and was seen by a nurse.
....