Inmate Jamin Robertson Died Following Medical Emergency At El Paso County Jail
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO (September 7, 2023) - A male inmate identified as Jamin Robertson has died following some type of medical emergency at the El Paso County Jail.
El Paso County officials are saying that the incident began around 5:45 a.m. on Monday. Correctional officers noticed that Jamin Robertson was unresponsive in his jail cell.
Jail medical staff entered the cell and began life-saving measures. The Colorado Springs Fire Department arrived at the scene and took over. Despite those measures, Jamin Robertson was later pronounced dead.
A full investigation into the incident remains ongoing at this time.
Liability For El Paso County Jail Inmate Deaths
In-custody deaths have continued to increase over recent years. According to National Public Radio, “At least 6,182 people died in state and federal prisons in 2020, a 46% jump from the previous year, according to data recently released by researchers from the UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project.” Deaths can occur for a wide variety of different reasons and in many different contexts. Several factors can contribute to in-custody deaths.
- Healthcare Access: Inmates enter the jail system with different medical needs. Many medical conditions are often exacerbated by the prison system. Some inmates may not receive the quality care that they need to survive.
- Mental Health: The vast majority of inmates enter the prison system with some form of trauma. Indeed, the very process of being incarcerated is incredibly traumatic in and of itself. It is therefore not surprising that suicide is one of the leading causes of inmate death.
- Substance Abuse: Jails often do a poor job regulating the flow of drugs and illicit materials that enter. Overdoses from opioids like fentanyl remain extremely common.
- Inadequate Supervision: In some cases, inadequate supervision can lead to inmate deaths. This could involve cases where inmates harm one another.
All inmates have a constitutional right to receive reasonably adequate healthcare. Every inmate has different medical needs and will therefore require a different level of care. When a jail is deliberately indifferent to the serious medical needs that an inmate has, this could form the basis of a constitutional claim. For example, a jail may have failed to intervene in a timely manner if an inmate was in the midst of a medical emergency. There are many steps that should be taken after any inmate death.
- Eye witnesses should be interviewed.
- The circumstances leading up to the death should be understood.
- An independent autopsy may need to be performed.
- Medical records relating to the death should be sought.
- A thorough investigation should be conducted.
A large number of inmate deaths are preventable and due to jail medical neglect. Jail officials are supposed to be proactive about keeping inmates healthy, but this often is not the case. In many situations, correctional officers will wait until an inmate is in medical distress before they intervene. The family of any person that died in-custody may be able to seek some measure of justice through a civil claim. A civil rights advocate can examine all of the unique facts of your case and get to the bottom of what caused any in-custody death.
Investigating El Paso County Jail Inmate Deaths
We at Scott H. Palmer, P.C. extend our deepest condolences to the family of Jamin Robertson. Any person that may have more information about what happened should reach out to police. There needs to be a thorough investigation into what happened.
Do you need more information about an El Paso County Jail death? Our team of civil rights advocates are here to help in any way that we can. We care deeply that inmates and their families are aware of their rights and that those rights are being protected. Whether you just have legal questions or need a free, independent investigation into any incident we are here for you. You can reach out to us anytime at 214-987-4100.