Mentally Ill Inmate Starves to Death in Utah Jail

Tuffy · Aug 7, 2011

Mentally Ill Inmate Starves to Death in Utah Jail

The Salt Lake City Tribune reports that a young prisoner who apparently suffered from serious mental illness died of starvation and dehydration after spending four months in the Salt Lake County Jail, much of them in solitary confinement. Carlos Umana, 20, weighed at 180 pounds when he entered the jail in October 2010; when he died on February 27, he weighed just 77 pounds. Tests showed that none of his prescribed psychiatric drugs were in his system at the time of his death.

http://solitarywatch.com/2011/06/06/mentally-ill-inmate-starves-to-death-in-utah-jail/

Quiche · Aug 7, 2011

Oh, uh, excuse me? I thought inmates were under supervision. Sickening!!

:furious:

badhorsie · Aug 7, 2011

Why was someone that mentally ill in a jail? That weightloss didn't happen overnight, was no one monitoring him?

Tuffy · Aug 7, 2011

badhorsie said:
Why was someone that mentally ill in a jail? That weightloss didn't happen overnight, was no one monitoring him?

...or more likely they just didn't care enough to intervene. I am interested to see the yet to be release, report from his last exam. The one where they were to determine his fitness to stand trial. Certainly, he didn't weigh much more than the 77 pounds reported at the time of death.

A young man in good health who starves to death in a couple of months must not have been taking in many calories at all!

OneLostGrl · Aug 7, 2011

OMG! This makes me want to cry! This poor helpless man.

Where is the outrage?! Oh yeah, he's a criminal.. so who cares, right? I am so sick of the mentally ill being criminalized and left to rot or die within the prison system! This has got to stop!!

Gozgals · Aug 8, 2011

I am so sad when I read this. Why Why Why?? This person was not being watched, better yet, nobody there cared.... That is what sucks about some of our LE depts. A mentally ill person should not have been there in the first place. Outraged. Sad thing is that people need to speak up before this stuff happens, (and it happens a lot) not after the fact. This rights have to be afforded to our mentally ill and all citizens.

Goz

Mentally Ill Inmate Starves to Death in Utah Jail

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