Jacksonville-area lawmakers ask Attorney General to investigate increase in Duval County Jail deaths

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida state lawmakers that represent the Jacksonville area are calling for a Department of Justice investigation into Duval County Jail deaths.

Sen. Tracie Davis (D-Jacksonville) and Rep. Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville) wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday, referencing a lack of necessary medication for inmates.

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Action News Jax told you in July when the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office terminated its contract with Armor Health, which had been providing medical services since 2017.

“Since the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office ended its in-house medical care in October 2017 and hired a for-profit private company to provide health care services in jails, deaths have tripled,” Nixon and Davis’ letter said.

Davis and Nixon said in their letter that the contract only ended after “a high-profile death and media scrutiny.”

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Nixon issued the following statement about the letter to Garland:

“No matter who we are, or what we look like, everyone is entitled to due process of the law. Incarcerated or not, every person must be treated humanely, with decency and respect, and that includes access to medical care and having your basic needs met. Sadly, private companies see human beings as generators of profit to help their bottom line and nothing more. This is wrong and it must end. JSO has a duty to protect our community–including their officers and the people in their charge who are their responsibility. Anything less is unacceptable.”

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Davis said the following of the letter:

“The pattern of failure to care for human lives is abhorrent and irresponsible. The actions by Armor warrant investigation and correction. Regardless of how a person ended up in the penal system, they have basic rights - that should never be forgotten or ignored by the people overseeing them.”

READ THEIR FULL LETTER BELOW:

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