Wednesday, June 26, 2013
CINCINNATI (AP) — A southwest Ohio sheriff’s office says the death of a jail inmate in April was caused by an overdose of prescription drugs he hoarded and heroin likely smuggled in by other inmates.
While the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department acknowledges it could do a better job keeping drugs out of the jail, a report released Tuesday puts the blame squarely on inmate James Barton. The 23-year-old man had been in jail for two months when he died from an overdose April 13.
The report says that drugs are always going to get into the 1,240-bed jail, no matter what steps are taken by deputies.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports the coroner ruled Barton died from an overdose of heroin and the drugs he was prescribed for depression and other conditions.