Category: City Jails|County Jails|Custodial Death|Jail Medical Care Lawyer|Ketoacidosis|Medical Care|Outside Texas

A story that was released earlier this year is about a man in a county jail outside of Texas who died of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in 2021. Anytime an inmate dies of DKA, there should be an investigation. That’s because the condition is preventable. Individuals who need insulin will not progress to DKA if they are simply administered the insulin they need.

The inmate, who we will call Inmate Smith, allegedly showed evidence of suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis for three days yet was not taken to a hospital or provided with insulin. There is a photograph inside the jail that shows Inmate Smith in a weakened condition in a room with six deputies from the county jail.

Further evidence from those three days shows that Inmate Smith was exhibiting symptoms of DKA. It appears that the jail denied necessary medical care. Claims are that their indifference and negligence are what led to the death of Inmate Smith on the third day in which he showed symptoms of DKA.

The only medication he received during his six days in the jail was a shot of insulin two hours before he died. At that point, it is safe to assume that the inmate’s health had deteriorated significantly, which is normal because of the effects that DKA has on the human body.

Learn more in this continuing series.

Providing assistance to detainees now or formerly incarcerated in a city or county jail in Texas is one of the purposes of this website. There is never any intention of implicating any person or institution in acts of wrongdoing.

–Guest Contributor

As part of an effort on September 19, 2022, to save the life of 55 year old Jim Hogg County Jail inmate Michael Joseph Tokos, the air ambulance arrived at the halo pad it was called to. The medics on the helicopter took over in the effort to revive Mr. Tokos. Sadly, there was no pulse and efforts ended at noon on that day. The Hebbronville, Texas, inmate was pronounced deceased. According to the results of an autopsy that was later performed, Mr. Tokos died of hypertensive arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

At Least a Dozen Deaths of Diabetic County Jail Inmates Occur in a State Outside Texas

According to an executive with the American Diabetes Association’s National Advocacy Committee, any individual with type 1 diabetes who is not provided with insulin will die within two weeks. In the state where these alleged deaths of diabetic individuals occurred, the guidelines for jails is that they have 14 days in which to examine and get the medical history of newly arrived inmates who have medical conditions. This apparently encompasses the time frame in which prescriptions can be approved.

Among the dozen diabetic inmates who allegedly died during the aforementioned period in a state outside Texas was a 31 year old who had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a child. After he began to experience nausea and began vomiting, which are early signs of diabetic ketoacidosis. The man was taken to medical at the jail, and for his first two days there, he was given insulin.

After that, insulin was stopped because a drug screen came back positive for methamphetamines. One of the most common types of diabetic medication, Metformin, occasionally registers as a false positive in drug screens.

Three days after the man arrived at medical, he was pronounced deceased. An autopsy was performed, and the report stated that his blood sugar was five times higher than it should have been for a person his age. The cause of death was not formally listed as diabetic ketoacidosis, though reports show that he had common signs of the condition.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this series.

This website seeks to provide resources that can be of help to Texas inmates who are now or have previously been incarcerated in a municipal or county jail in the state. Linking institutions or individuals to purported misdeeds is never intended.

–Guest Contributor

After Jim Hogg County Jail inmate Michael Joseph Tokos was placed in an ambulance outside the Hebbronville, Texas, jail, paramedics employed lifesaving measures. Mr. Tokos was transported to a halo pad, where an air ambulance was awaited. This was on September 19, 2022, the day in which 55 year old Michael Joseph Tokos was later proclaimed deceased.

A Watchdog Group Reveals at Least a Dozen Deaths of Diabetic County Jail Inmates in a County and State Outside Texas

When diabetic individuals are incarcerated, regular access to insulin is crucial. Diabetes is a treatable disease, and providing treatment makes the difference between health and such symptoms as incoherence and uncontrollable vomiting. Providing or denying access to insulin is also a matter of life or death.

In a U.S. state, it has been alleged that at least 60 diabetic inmates have allegedly been denied treatment. In another state, at least a dozen individuals have allegedly died from a condition called “diabetic ketoacidosis.”

What is Diabetic Ketoacidosis?

Diabetic ketoacidosis is a condition that develops when a person’s body does not produce enough insulin. Insulin helps sugar enter the body’s cells, which is important because sugar provides energy to certain tissues, including muscles. When a sufficient amount of insulin is lacking, the body begins breaking down fat as a source of fuel. This results in a detrimental buildup of ketones, which are acids in the bloodstream. When diabetes goes untreated, the ketone buildup can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis, which is a serious complication of diabetes.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this continuing series.

This website seeks to provide resources that can be of help to Texas inmates who are now or have previously been incarcerated in a municipal or county jail in the state. Linking institutions or individuals to purported misdeeds is never intended.

–Guest Contributor