David Stojcevski died from drug withdrawal while serving a 2014 jail sentence in Michigan for not showing up to traffic court. A video obtained by BuzzFeed News captured the last day of his life. WARNING: This post contains pictures and video of Stojcevski naked and dying in his cell that some readers may consider graphic.
David Stojcevksi, 32, was a Michigan resident undergoing drug addiction treatment when he was sentenced to 30 days in the Macomb County Jail in June 2014 for not showing up to a traffic court hearing for $772 in unpaid fines.
He had been ticketed for careless driving, according to a federal lawsuit filed by his family in March against the jail and its healthcare contractor, Correct Care Solutions. On Tuesday, the FBI announced they are conducting a civil review of Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham's investigation of Stojcevksi's death.
During his 16 days in jail, Stojcevski suffered from serious drug withdrawals that resulted in his death, according to an autopsy report. Corrections and medical staff failed to continue his drug treatment, according to the complaint, while Stojcevski was held in a mental health unit cell where he had to be naked under a smock at all times. While he was jailed, he lost 50 pounds, hallucinated, and at times apparently writhed in agony on the floor.
The 230 hours of footage of Stojcevski leading up to his death show a man slowly succumbing to withdrawals, experts said.
During his first day in the mental health cell, he got plate of food around 4:19 p.m. in a styrofoam takeout container. He doesn't eat it.
He fiddles with his smock and eventually uses as a blanket. He lays on the mat that is placed on the floor and closes his eyes. That evening, a corrections officer with two people dressed in nurse smocks come in to check his blood pressure and then leave the cell after 10 minutes.
The rest of the days he spends laying still on the floor or curled on the bottom bunk of the cell. He seems to barely eat and at times the video does not show a styrofoam container of food at all.
By the 25th of July he is breathing heavily and twitching. He stares at the ceiling in a seemingly catatonic state.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1KTYB2T
No comments:
Post a Comment