| Wolf Eagle |
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| I happened upon a rather interesting post made at the website "Topix.com". At this website it is very hard to find stimulating conversation or discussion due to several factors. The major factor is that the website allows people to post anonymous comments at will without requiring registration. In that regard, people are cloaked with the ability to be mean, hostile, rude and even threatening because the posters of such hate filled comments gamble that no matter what they say they cannot be found. As a couple of them have found out the hard way, it is not quite so hard to find out anything with steadfast persistence and a degree of knowledge of how they "system" works. In any event, I read the following comment which is a copy and paste that was posted there . I felt led to offer my opinion on the subject. I believe that if anyone has a concern that is important to them it is worthy of a degree of value and not blind, hateful criticism. Also, this comment brings to light a very important concern. We all understand that jails are over crowded, counties such as Rhea County, Tennessee are at the brink of being insolvent yet continue to seek out ways to spend money that is not there yet still surge ahead with the spending of public funds by BORROWING the money. The sickest part to the county, the city or any other entity charged with a public duty and an authority over how public money is appropriated is our elected local officials know full well the economy on a national level is in dire straights. With a shrinking revenue base, jobs being eliminated, gasoline prices projected to reach $5.00 a gallon, Rhea County commissioners appear to be headstrong in borrowing upwards of 40 to 50 million dollars to build a new school and new jail without any indication or answer as to HOW THEY PLAN TO PAY THAT MONEY BACK. Clearly, a county can find out in a hurry that having someone incarcerated in the county jail involves much more than throwing a person in jail only to find that there isn't room at the jail, not enough money in the budget, or not enough money appropriated in the budget for adequate food, medicine, medical care and the host of other mandates required by law to care for that individual. We must remember that everyone arrested IS PRESUMED TO BE INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. I too have been arrested. I too was deprived my medication in which one of those medications are for thinning my blood due to a massive blood clot that has hardened inside a deep vein in my leg. A Deep Vein Thrombosis is a very, very dangerous medical condition. I have almost "clocked out" to go meet my maker twice due to this massive blood clot, which now has lead to the possibility of more clots. In other words, if I am thrown in jail due to some "probable cause" of a police officer, and I am denied my medication, then I could be dead of a pulmonary embolism. I am well aware of how police can just "make it up as they go" and whether charges are dismissed or not, damage has already been incurred. Therefore, in the interest of self protection, I have long since created a protocol in such event and remain at constant alert and on guard for those acts of a few cops such as Steve Rievley who lack the competence, the training, the ability and the integrity to even be a police officer. I invite you to read this lawsuit that is within this site captioned as Roy L. Denton v Steve Rievley. I can completely empathize with the person that posted the comment that was posted at Topix.com and I feel that his/her concern, anonymous or not, is deserving not of ridicule, but of serious discussion. Whatever remedy the person has or doesn't have isn't the gist of my response to the post. My response is one that I feel is very important that addresses in part what happens to a person who is deprived of his/her freedom and incarcerated in a jail. This is still the United States of America and not some third world country where people can be jailed, holed up, barely fed, not adequately cared for and so on. In comparison, if we throw a stranded animal in a cage do we deprive the animal of basic essentials such as food and medical care or do we say the hell with them and write them off as a burden? In any event, we still have what is called the "Eighth Amendment" to the United States Constitution. It sure appears that these little things called "RIGHTS" appear to be a hindrance to public officials. That is one reason we must know exactly what our rights are and invoke them, defend them or erase them out of the constitution and we can have at it, right? Below is the original post: POSTED BY: "the educator" A word of advice, if you are taking prescription medication such as xanax or valium or hydrocodone, you do not want to get arrested in rhea county. I was illegally arrested in rhea county. At the time I was pursuing a career as a medical assistant. Being a medical assistant I was very aware that withdrawls from xanax can cause seizures, coma and death. I had been on xanax for ten years, it was prescribed to me for my post traumatic stress disorder. When I was in Rhea county jail I was denied my prescription medication simply because it is a schedule 4 narcotic. I had seizures, irregular heartbeat, and was extremely ill he first three weeks I was in here. I was refused medical treatment, and I now suffer irreversable brain damage from having seizures caused by not being given my prescribed medication. I am now pursuing a lawsuit and each jailor that was working at the rhea county jail at that time, I am going to try to have them charged with involuntary manslaughter for what they did to me. I suffered inhuman and peculiar punishment, was denied my medication, and suffer brain damage that cannot be fixed. Click here to view the permalink to the original post location |
I read this post (pasted above) yesterday and started to reply but once again felt myself in a battle with myself to speak out
on what I feel is right, whether it is or not is a separate matter. But when you asked the question about “how would someone
feel if they were a diabetic and insulin was deprived from them, well, it struck a nerve in me. I am on blood thinners for a
massive blood clot that has nearly killed me twice and if I was deprived of this medicine then more than likely I would suffer
a pulmonary embolism that could be fatal. Therefore, if I was arrested, unlawfully or not, and was deprived on this blood
thinning medication then the “powers that be” could actually get rid of “old Roy” and his opinions, by throwing me in jail.
However, I am acutely aware of the "system" and have designed a protocol to help protect me. After all, if I do not stand
up for myself or protect myself, who else will?
With that said, I offer this to you not as “legal advice”, but as a fellow humanitarian.
I feel that any lawsuit filed for your stated causes of action would never survive a basic Rule 12 Motion to Dismiss
concerning what you allege to be “involuntary manslaughter” or “attempted negligent homicide”. I feel that if you pursued a
civil action under a legal theory in which you described you have no claim in which relief can be granted and your case in all
likelihood would be dismissed by the court. Therefore, with that said, I suggest you focus your attention to the Eighth
Amendment to the United States Constitution as made applicable to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment. I also suggest
that you research and learn as much as you can pertaining to ALL the facts of your alleged claim from both sides being the
plaintiff and defendant’s legal theories.
From what you have described, it appears that what your claim would better be adjudicated under what is called
“deliberate indifference”. Deliberate indifference means that officials acted willfully and maliciously, or with reckless
disregard of inmate's well-being with respect to plaintiff's medical care. The courts consistently hold that “A defendant acts
recklessly when he disregards a substantial risk of danger that either is known to him or would be apparent to a reasonable
person in his position. Recklessness is characterized by highly unreasonable conduct or a gross departure from ordinary care
in a situation where a high degree of danger is present.”
The right of prisoners to receive standard medical care has been established under various court rulings, including a 1976 U.
S. Supreme Court decision that said "deliberate indifference" to an inmate's medical needs violates the constitutional ban
against "cruel and unusual punishment." If you were going to pursue civil litigation on this complaint, you could argue:
"Because someone is incarcerated, we have a higher obligation to provide them care because we have deprived them of
their liberty". So the key words to what you are trying to get across is “deliberate indifference” applied under Eighth
Amendment protections. To act "deliberately" means to act intentionally; that is, knowingly and voluntarily and not because
of mistake, inadvertence, or accident. Now take the theory in which you feel aggrieved and see if this standard applies.
“The right to adequate medical care is guaranteed to convicted federal prisoners by the Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Clause of the Eighth Amendment, and is made applicable to convicted state prisoners and to pretrial detainees (both federal
and state) by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.” Johnson v. Karnes, 398 F.3d 868, 873 (6th Cir.
2005). The Eighth Amendment's proscription of the failure to provide medical care to prisoners was delineated by the
United States Supreme Court in Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 97 S.Ct. 285, 50 L.Ed.2d 251 (1976), as follows: An
inmate must rely on prison authorities to treat his medical needs; if the authorities fail to do so, those needs will not be met. In
the worst cases, such a failure may actually produce physical “torture or a lingering death,” the evils of most immediate
concern to the drafters of the Amendment. In less serious cases, denial of medical care may result in pain and suffering which
no one suggests would serve any penological purpose. The infliction of such unnecessary suffering is inconsistent with
contemporary standards of decency as manifested in modern legislation codifying the common-law view that “(i)t is but just
that the public be required to care for the prisoner, who cannot by reason of the deprivation of his liberty, care for himself.”
Furthermore, under Tennessee state law, it is the duty of the county legislative body to provide medical attendance for all
prisoners confined in the county jail. The county legislative body shall authorize the compensation of the county jail physician,
as agreed upon in writing between the county and the attending jail physician, or as may be fixed by the county legislative
body. T.C.A. § 41-4-115(a). The Tennessee Supreme Court has recognized that it is the statutory duty of the county
legislative body to furnish the services of a physician to treat illnesses of inmates. George v. Harlan, 1998 WL 668637, *4
(Tenn. 1998). See also Manus v. Sudbury, 2003 WL 22888883, *4 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003) (“By statute, county legislative
bodies alone have the power and duty to provide medical care to prisoners confined in their jail.”). Cf. County Hosp. Auth.
v. Bradley County, 66 S.W.3d 888, 889 (Tenn. Ct. App.2001); Leach v. Shelby County Sheriff, 891 F.2d 1241, 1250
(6th Cir. 1989) (“Contracting out prison medical care does not relieve the State of its constitutional duty to provide
adequate medical treatment to those in its custody, and it does not deprive the State's prisoners of the means to vindicate
their Eighth Amendment rights.”); Willis v. Barksdale, 625 F.Supp. 411 (W.D. Tenn. 1985) (medical needs); Andrews v.
Camden County, 95 F.Supp.2d 217, 228 (D. N.J. 2000). See also West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 108 S.Ct. 2250, 101 L.
Ed.2d 40 (1988).
I hope these few legal authorities cited above help you in some way. I understand your position and I also understand the
county's position inasmuch as it is basically BROKE. If the county cannot provide for a person incarcerated then someone
has a problem. However, that is a localized problem for the county officials to resolve. In my opinion, if we start withholding
medications now due in large part because of the expense, then tough. Stop arresting people where charges are later
dropped. Write a few citations or something. One thing for certain, it isn't my worry nor is it your worry. But if we start
depriving pretrial detainees that have NOT been sentenced but await trial, who cannot pay a large bail bond thereby forced
to stay in a jail, then the county MUST comply with law as well as the basic human rights. To refuse medication to you or
anyone else today will eventually lead to no mattresses, no blankets, no food except perhaps a slice of bread and a cup of
water. Those draconian days are over. Bottom line is if you are incarcerated in the Rhea County jail then they MUST
adequately take care of your basic needs and as we all know in society, medication of any kind lawfully prescribed by a
physician is indeed a "basic need".
Lastly, to address an overcrowded jail issue with the building of a bigger jail is tantamount to building additional graveyards
to address AIDS or any other illness for that matter.
To further help point you in the general direction so as to help you educate yourself on this issue I offer this informative
ACLU material. LITIGATING PRISON AND JAIL CONDITIONS
Hope this has helped address your concerns.
on what I feel is right, whether it is or not is a separate matter. But when you asked the question about “how would someone
feel if they were a diabetic and insulin was deprived from them, well, it struck a nerve in me. I am on blood thinners for a
massive blood clot that has nearly killed me twice and if I was deprived of this medicine then more than likely I would suffer
a pulmonary embolism that could be fatal. Therefore, if I was arrested, unlawfully or not, and was deprived on this blood
thinning medication then the “powers that be” could actually get rid of “old Roy” and his opinions, by throwing me in jail.
However, I am acutely aware of the "system" and have designed a protocol to help protect me. After all, if I do not stand
up for myself or protect myself, who else will?
With that said, I offer this to you not as “legal advice”, but as a fellow humanitarian.
I feel that any lawsuit filed for your stated causes of action would never survive a basic Rule 12 Motion to Dismiss
concerning what you allege to be “involuntary manslaughter” or “attempted negligent homicide”. I feel that if you pursued a
civil action under a legal theory in which you described you have no claim in which relief can be granted and your case in all
likelihood would be dismissed by the court. Therefore, with that said, I suggest you focus your attention to the Eighth
Amendment to the United States Constitution as made applicable to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment. I also suggest
that you research and learn as much as you can pertaining to ALL the facts of your alleged claim from both sides being the
plaintiff and defendant’s legal theories.
From what you have described, it appears that what your claim would better be adjudicated under what is called
“deliberate indifference”. Deliberate indifference means that officials acted willfully and maliciously, or with reckless
disregard of inmate's well-being with respect to plaintiff's medical care. The courts consistently hold that “A defendant acts
recklessly when he disregards a substantial risk of danger that either is known to him or would be apparent to a reasonable
person in his position. Recklessness is characterized by highly unreasonable conduct or a gross departure from ordinary care
in a situation where a high degree of danger is present.”
The right of prisoners to receive standard medical care has been established under various court rulings, including a 1976 U.
S. Supreme Court decision that said "deliberate indifference" to an inmate's medical needs violates the constitutional ban
against "cruel and unusual punishment." If you were going to pursue civil litigation on this complaint, you could argue:
"Because someone is incarcerated, we have a higher obligation to provide them care because we have deprived them of
their liberty". So the key words to what you are trying to get across is “deliberate indifference” applied under Eighth
Amendment protections. To act "deliberately" means to act intentionally; that is, knowingly and voluntarily and not because
of mistake, inadvertence, or accident. Now take the theory in which you feel aggrieved and see if this standard applies.
“The right to adequate medical care is guaranteed to convicted federal prisoners by the Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Clause of the Eighth Amendment, and is made applicable to convicted state prisoners and to pretrial detainees (both federal
and state) by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.” Johnson v. Karnes, 398 F.3d 868, 873 (6th Cir.
2005). The Eighth Amendment's proscription of the failure to provide medical care to prisoners was delineated by the
United States Supreme Court in Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 97 S.Ct. 285, 50 L.Ed.2d 251 (1976), as follows: An
inmate must rely on prison authorities to treat his medical needs; if the authorities fail to do so, those needs will not be met. In
the worst cases, such a failure may actually produce physical “torture or a lingering death,” the evils of most immediate
concern to the drafters of the Amendment. In less serious cases, denial of medical care may result in pain and suffering which
no one suggests would serve any penological purpose. The infliction of such unnecessary suffering is inconsistent with
contemporary standards of decency as manifested in modern legislation codifying the common-law view that “(i)t is but just
that the public be required to care for the prisoner, who cannot by reason of the deprivation of his liberty, care for himself.”
Furthermore, under Tennessee state law, it is the duty of the county legislative body to provide medical attendance for all
prisoners confined in the county jail. The county legislative body shall authorize the compensation of the county jail physician,
as agreed upon in writing between the county and the attending jail physician, or as may be fixed by the county legislative
body. T.C.A. § 41-4-115(a). The Tennessee Supreme Court has recognized that it is the statutory duty of the county
legislative body to furnish the services of a physician to treat illnesses of inmates. George v. Harlan, 1998 WL 668637, *4
(Tenn. 1998). See also Manus v. Sudbury, 2003 WL 22888883, *4 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003) (“By statute, county legislative
bodies alone have the power and duty to provide medical care to prisoners confined in their jail.”). Cf. County Hosp. Auth.
v. Bradley County, 66 S.W.3d 888, 889 (Tenn. Ct. App.2001); Leach v. Shelby County Sheriff, 891 F.2d 1241, 1250
(6th Cir. 1989) (“Contracting out prison medical care does not relieve the State of its constitutional duty to provide
adequate medical treatment to those in its custody, and it does not deprive the State's prisoners of the means to vindicate
their Eighth Amendment rights.”); Willis v. Barksdale, 625 F.Supp. 411 (W.D. Tenn. 1985) (medical needs); Andrews v.
Camden County, 95 F.Supp.2d 217, 228 (D. N.J. 2000). See also West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 108 S.Ct. 2250, 101 L.
Ed.2d 40 (1988).
I hope these few legal authorities cited above help you in some way. I understand your position and I also understand the
county's position inasmuch as it is basically BROKE. If the county cannot provide for a person incarcerated then someone
has a problem. However, that is a localized problem for the county officials to resolve. In my opinion, if we start withholding
medications now due in large part because of the expense, then tough. Stop arresting people where charges are later
dropped. Write a few citations or something. One thing for certain, it isn't my worry nor is it your worry. But if we start
depriving pretrial detainees that have NOT been sentenced but await trial, who cannot pay a large bail bond thereby forced
to stay in a jail, then the county MUST comply with law as well as the basic human rights. To refuse medication to you or
anyone else today will eventually lead to no mattresses, no blankets, no food except perhaps a slice of bread and a cup of
water. Those draconian days are over. Bottom line is if you are incarcerated in the Rhea County jail then they MUST
adequately take care of your basic needs and as we all know in society, medication of any kind lawfully prescribed by a
physician is indeed a "basic need".
Lastly, to address an overcrowded jail issue with the building of a bigger jail is tantamount to building additional graveyards
to address AIDS or any other illness for that matter.
To further help point you in the general direction so as to help you educate yourself on this issue I offer this informative
ACLU material. LITIGATING PRISON AND JAIL CONDITIONS
Hope this has helped address your concerns.
| Medical Care of Inmates in a County Jail ~~~~~~~ A discussion of "Deliberate Indifference" By "WolfEagle" |
| My Response to: "the educator" |
