Forty-two-year-old Tobe Lee Fluty, Jr. was booked into Randall County Jail in Amarillo, Texas, on January 19, 2023. He died of complications of peritonitis at Northwest Texas Hospital on January 24, 2023. The custodial death report (CDR) indicates that he had not received treatment for that condition while in the jail. Randall County Jail is located at 9100 S. Georgia St, Amarillo, TX 79118. The address of Northwest Texas Hospital is 1501 Coulter Street, Amarillo, TX 79106, in Potter County.

Death by Peritonitis in U.S. Jails

Inmate deaths in county and municipal jails are often related to health problems. The tragic reality is that many of those custodial fatalities have been unnecessary deaths. Some medical conditions, such as peritonitis, require immediate action, but rapid responses to health complaints don’t seem to occur on a routine basis in jail settings.

Every year the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) reports that most of the complaints against the jails under their jurisdiction are related to medical care. News stories about custodial deaths throughout the U.S. often reveal that family members believe their loved one was denied the medical care they needed and, therefore, died unnecessarily.

Families are often devastated after time spent in a local jail becomes like a death sentence for loved ones who became seriously ill during incarceration. In this continuing series, learn some of the stories in which detainees die from complications of peritonitis.

Providing help for prisoners in Texas municipal and county jails in the way of pertinent resources is the purpose of this website. Implying that any institution or individual has been involved in misdeeds is never an intention.

–Guest Contributor