Somerset County Jail, NJ, is Sued in Connection With the Death of Prisoner
On December 27, 2017, the family of Jaquan Williams filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Somerset County Jail and others. Williams died on January 11, 2017, while detained in the Somerville, New Jersey, jail. He had been detained for nine days when he allegedly died from serious injuries sustained in an altercation with his cellmate. He was found unresponsive and with a weak pulse. He was transported to an Intensive Care Unit at a nearby hospital, where he died.
On the day of Williams’ death, his mother visited him at 3 p.m through 3:30. He also spoke on the phone to his girlfriend from 5:51 to 6:30. Williams then ate dinner, and the jail went into lockdown for a detainee count from 8 to 8:30. Then at 9:45 p.m., he was discovered unresponsive in his cell, according to Patricia Belin, Williams’ mother. Belin says it must have been lack of supervision that could result in her son being unresponsive. The staff could not resuscitate him, she said.
The death was investigated and no further details have been provided. All custodial deaths are investigated. In Texas, the Texas Rangers are in charge of such investigations. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) also investigates jail deaths. One of the things that is checked into is whether medical care was provided, as required by minimum jail standards. In this case out of New Jersey, the deceased’s mother claims that he did not receive the prompt medical care he needed, resulting in his death.
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