JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Fifteen inmates have died in the custody of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office so far this year. The latest death happened early Tuesday morning.
JSO said 64-year-old Renae Ray Carter was pronounced dead around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday after being found unresponsive in his isolation cell.
This is the fourth death since a new healthcare provider took over at the jail in September.
Earlier this year, two state lawmakers requested the Department of Justice investigate the jail and the “skyrocketing deaths.”
In late September, state Reps. Tracie Davis and Angie Nixon sent a letter to the DOJ requesting a federal investigation -- that was after the 12th death inside the jail.
It’s unclear exactly where that request stands.
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The Duval County jail switched to Naphcare after the city ended its contract with its previous healthcare provider, Armor. That contract was terminated after the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said it found Armor failed to meet reporting requirements and Sheriff T.K. Waters learned the company had been found guilty in connection to an inmate’s death in Wisconsin.
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In the latest inmate death in Duval County, JSO reported that Carter was homeless and had been in the jail since Nov. 22 on a trespassing charge.
He was housed in isolation, and JSO said corrections officers conducted rounds and talked to Carter through his cell door. After midnight Tuesday, they reported that Carter had stopped responding. He died a short time later.
David Given, another man who was in his 60s and homeless, also died at the Duval County jail this year. According to the Medical Examiner’s Office, Given died of pneumonia at the jail in September.
Dawn Gilman, CEO of Changing Homelessness in Jacksonville, said some people who are homeless will commit a misdemeanor, like trespassing, so they can go to jail to get shelter.
“If you trespass, they have to take you. People may have tried many other places they would have preferred to stay, could have stayed, wanting to stay, but for whatever combination of reasons they were not able to,” Gilman said.
At City Hall, Councilman Michael Boylan is trying to improve conditions and care at the jail. He’s part of a committee exploring options for a new jail and different kinds of services for those in need.
News4JAX asked him about what Gilman said.
“It’s so unfortunate that we find people [who] find no other recourse than to do that. We’ve got facilities, we have shelters in the area that can support them. But that’s not a permanent solution for anyone in this process,” Boylan said. “Long-term housing with wraparound services is what we need to create.”
This all comes amid talks of moving the jail from its current location. City leaders have met to talk about moving the jail several times, but if it were to happen, it would not be for many years and would cost over $380 million.
For now, city leaders are examining how to better deliver services to those in need.
“As we know, the vast majority of folks in our facility today, perhaps what could be better suited and more of a mental health or physical health or behavioral health facility, and we’ll take a look at the prospect of creating something like that,” Boylan said.
The Medical Examiner will determine Carter’s cause of death through an autopsy as detectives continue to investigate. Initial information indicates Carter possibly had an undetermined medical episode, police said.