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Abstract: 

James E. Williams, Jr., a former Alabama state prisoner, was suffering from Addison’s disease and he had been taking medications to treat the disease since 1980. At the time he entered the Wilcox County Jail in 1999, he was required to take two prescription drugs daily or risk serious health problems, including death. Williams’ complaint states that the jailers did not always get his prescription refills from the local pharmacy before he ran out of medicine. A Split Decision Regarding an Inmate’s Death in Custody - On the morning of October 16, 2001, when 55-year-old Jerry Butts was brought to the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center for booking, a sheriff’s deputy filled out a preliminary medical questionnaire indicating that Butts was on medication, suffered from chest pains, and had received treatment previously for both a heart condition and high blood pressure.

Keywords: Deliberate Indifference, acute heart failure, medical history, booking protocol, risk of harm

Affiliations:  1: Pace University School of Law Library.