RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The death of a mentally ill inmate at a Virginia jail last August roiled the state and spurred calls for reforms.
But nearly a year after Jamycheal Mitchell’s death, questions remain about how the otherwise healthy man deteriorated in plain sight of jail and health officials.
That has frustrated advocates who say they fear thousands of mentally ill people behind bars in Virginia remain at risk.
The 24-year-old was arrested in April 2015 for stealing $5 worth of junk food from a 7-Eleven. He was ordered to a state mental hospital but never got there. Instead, he spent months behind bars before being found dead.
Mitchell’s family filed a $60 million lawsuit accusing jail officials of physically abusing the man. The jail has pushed back fiercely against the family’s claims.
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