WA - Damaris Rodriguez, 43 mother of 5, dies after 4 days solitary in SCORE Jan 4,2018 *family sues*

[Vail]

Mother of 5 dies after 4 days of solitary confinement at SCORE (GRAPHIC WARNING)

Damaris Rodriguez died while behind bars at the SCORE jail, even though every moment of her four-day decline was captured on surveillance video.

The 43-year-old old mother of five was booked into the South Correctional Entity Jail in Des Moines on Dec. 30, 2017 after "she suffered from a mental health episode,” according to the federal complaint her family filed in the United States District Court of Western Washington.

“I told them, she doesn’t need to go to jail. She needs to go to a hospital,” her husband Ray.

“She was never taken in front of a judge,” attorney Nate Bingham said. “Damaris spent the next four days descending into insanity, becoming sicker and sicker and eventually her body shut down and she died.”

Rodriguez “was sick, she was hallucinating and she was dying,” according to Bingham, who said no one knows Rodriguez’s exact time of death. According to the surveillance video, it appears she died sometime late on the night of Jan. 3 or early Jan. 4, 2018. said.

Bingham believes Rodriguez died because SCORE employees didn’t want to pay to bring in a doctor to care for her. KIRO 7 asked attorneys representing the defendants for on-camera interviews to get their perspective on the in-custody death of Damaris Rodriguez.

Since Rodriguez’s death just over two years ago, there have been two additional deaths at SCORE; one in April and one in September of 2019, according to SCORE’s website: News Releases — South Correctional Entity

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Link contains graphic footage and more details about the case, plus the official statement.

What happened to Damaris is appalling. This family needs all the support they can get.

 

[Luckyzmom]

Following Thanks @Vail just couldn't "like" that but I am here . Rest in Peace Damaris, prayers for comfort and strength for her husband and children, my Lord what went on in there ? How on Earth did no one help this woman? JMO don't know how no one thought to do something/ anything to help her

 

[musicaljoke]

Is it any wonder that a woman with a mental health breakdown died while in their care. Here's the SCORE mission statement:

SCORE Mission Statement:
To provide professional, cost effective and efficient correctional services to our Member Cities.
https://www.scorejail.org/

Compare that to this Mission Statement:

The Correctional Service of Canada ( CSC ), as part of the criminal justice system and respecting the rule of law, contributes to public safety by actively encouraging and assisting offenders to become law-abiding citizens, while exercising reasonable, safe, secure and humane control.
About Us

Or this one from Australia:

To manage offenders in a safe, secure and humane environment and provide opportunities for rehabilitation and reintegration.
Department for Correctional Services - Mission and vision

Or this one from Scotland:

The Vision, Mission and Values for the SPS are [...] to build on the already strong foundations of the service to develop an improved focus and investment in rehabilitation and reintegration services that help people in our care to fulfill their potential as responsible citizens.
Vision of the Scottish Prison Service

 

[kaen]

Sickening. When will stories like this stop. The mission statements from the other service providers for jail/incarceration are very telling. Thanks for posting, @musicaljoke.

 

[Angleterre]

This is horrific. That poor lady wasn’t just mentally sick but clearly physically sick too and nobody called a DR? She was kept in custody without charge in excess of 72 hours- why ? She was left in her own urine and vomit -why ?
What did her autopsy report say her cause of death was?
I am utterly appalled sickened and disappointed that this can happen in these times ...
The governor and all staff who were on duty and responsible for her during the 104 hours in custody need to explain why here... and they ought to be behind bars themselves.
I am sooooo angry about this basic lack of care respect and empathy shown to this lady , wife, mum to 5 children....
Where were her rights?

 

[Vail]

Detained Woman’s Final Days Alive Captured by Facility Surveillance Footage

Rodriguez’s attorney speculates that this death resulted from a combination of neglect by the SCORE facility employees and medical staff, her deteriorating mental state, and ketoacidosis (buildup of acid in the blood due to diabetes).

The family’s civil lawsuit against SCORE, its employees and NaphCare is anticipated to enter a trial phase next year at the earliest.