Nationwide — Sheqweetta Vaughan, a 32-year-old African American girl held at a northeast Georgia jail, was discovered useless in her cell again in July. Months after giving beginning, her physique confirmed indicators of decay, elevating new considerations about jail situations and inmate care.
On July 9, workers at Lee Arrendale State Jail reported discovering Vaughan unresponsive. Habersham County Deputy Coroner Kenneth Franklin mentioned officers had checked on her at 10:08 a.m. and found her useless about half-hour later. When Franklin arrived shortly after midday, he estimated she had been useless for 2 to 4 hours.
In response to 11Alive, Franklin famous that excessive warmth and poor air flow within the cell sped up decomposition, making it troublesome to verify the precise time of loss of life. His report mentioned the temperature inside reached the 90s, with virtually no airflow. By the point he entered, a powerful odor of decay crammed the area.
The coroner confirmed no medication or contraband had been discovered. Vaughan’s physique was taken to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for an post-mortem, however her reason for loss of life stays undetermined.
Her loss of life has drawn the eye of Motherhood Past Bars, a nonprofit that helps incarcerated moms. Govt Director Amy Ard mentioned Vaughan had given beginning six months earlier and attended the group’s childbirth schooling program. Ard known as the situations of Vaughan’s solitary cell “inhumane,” pointing to the summer time warmth and lack of air con.
“It was method too scorching for anybody, postpartum or not, to be in a unit the place there’s no airflow, no air con, no air movement, in Georgia within the summertime,” she mentioned.
Ard additionally questioned whether or not the required 30-minute checks on remoted inmates had been really carried out that morning, citing the coroner’s description of Vaughan’s physique.
Vaughan was serving a two-year sentence and anticipated to return house after launch.
The Georgia Division of Corrections has not answered questions on workers checks or cell temperatures on the day of her loss of life. The company has introduced plans to shut or repurpose Lee Arrendale State Jail and exchange it with a bigger ladies’s facility.
