Man Who Was Arrested For Shoplifting $5 Dies In Jail Waiting For Bed In Mental Hospital
A man who went off his meds and ended up stealing $5 worth of snacks from a local convenience store has died in jail while he was waiting for a bed in a local mental hospital. Jamycheal Mitchell allegedly stole a Mountain Dew, a Snickers bar and a Zebra Cake, totaling $5.05 according to the Washington Post. After he was arrested, a judge ordered the man to go to a mental hospital to get help, but the hospital had no beds, so he sat in jail for months.
On August 19th, after reportedly losing more than 36 pounds he was found dead in his cell. While jail officials say they are investigating what had happened, his family and a number of civil rights groups are wondering how he could have been allowed to get so bad and why he was left to rot away in prison when even the judge on his case knew he needed help, and not just a jail cell.
“My son died by himself,” Sonia Adams, Mitchell’s mother said. “That’s the thing that gets me the most.“
