Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome

08/07/2017

If we an bring about more change in more facilities like those made in Fannin County Georgia and bring more awareness to Alcohol/Drug Withdrawal we can save more lives! Alcohol/Drug withdrawal death does not only occur in jails, it happens everywhere! The more people that become aware of the signs and symptoms of withdrawal and the need for medical intervention the more we can save lives. And I would pray those who survive withdrawal Never go back to the addiction again. Stay Sober, Stay Clean, Stay Strong, Stay Alive !

08/04/2017

Justice for Jason: Achieving Change in Fannin County Georgia Sheriffs Jail. The Story
Death in Fannin County Jail, Blue Ridge Ga
In April of 2007 Jason Hewitt Armsden was arrested in Fannin County Georgia. He was an alcoholic and on his 4th day in an Isolation cell Jason died of Acute Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome on April 10th 2007. He had not received any intervening medical care for his condition.
Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Jason Armsden’s sister, Mary Becker, filed a wrongful death Lawsuit against Fannin County et al via Attorney Bruce Millar of the law firm Millar and Mixon. Neither expected the suit to last ten very long years. However, Ms. Becker was determined to make a difference and hopefully save another family from such heartbreak and prevent another person from dying in such a manner in that facility.
Settlement resulting in Change
On April 10 2017 a settlement agreement was reached and signed that included confirmation of changes made by the Sheriff's Office in policy and procedure during the intake process of booking. Today an onsite Nurse is in the facility daily during business hours and on call after hours and transport to hospital if a person is unable to walk in and/or is in distress is required prior to intake. Training of Staff in the recognition of alcohol or other addiction withdrawal as well as other health symptoms that could jeopardize the person’s well being is policy and ongoing. In the Lobby of the Jail hangs a plaque recognizing the death of Jason Hewitt Armsden in their facility and the awareness and change brought about in the facility due to his death.
On August 4th 2017 Mary Becker with her spouse, her Attorney Bruce Millar, and opposing counsel toured Fannin County Jail to view the plaque and see first hand the changes made throughout the facility. Following are pictures of the plaque and lobby and my late brother Jason. For security purposes, pictures were not taken of the internal areas of the Jail. - In Loving Memory of my Brother
Jason Hewitt Armsden
August 14th 1961 – April 10th 2007

06/11/2017

ATTENTION! We are in the process of preparing an Announcement to be released in July 2017 detailing our 'Success Story' of a Victim of Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome while detained.

04/07/2017

It seems that there has been an uptick in news regarding abuse of people by the system. While I have not been able to make any posts for the last many months I can assure you I am still dedicated to this cause and in the near future you will begin seeing many new posts about the issue. Please keep aware of Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome and encourage your friends and family to learn and be aware and to seek help if they are an alcoholic or addicted to a substance as one can die or suffer life altering injury without proper medical oversight during the "sobering up or coming clean" phase of getting away from addiction of Alcohol or other substances. To those of you who have become sober and remain so you have my prayers and encouragement to remain sober. Alcoholism is like any other disease, it is always there. You always have to remain aware of it and fight it with your will power and support system. My prayers that if you are trying to stop your addiction that you succeed, and if like me you have lost someone that you are comforted by knowing you are not alone in that grief.

06/27/2016

This is a very informational article. Key points you should take from this to assist in getting help for an alcoholic recently arrested is to make certain the 'authorities' know whether the person has a history of sustained drinking and whether they have ever experienced any of the withdrawal symptoms previously when they tried to stop drinking. These are important factors informationally to those who are supposed to be watching and providing medical care while in custody. For me personally, if I can't get the authorities to listen, I would start making calls to the local news stations and anyone else I could to make sure the person is receiving the needed care to save them from an excruciating death.

Alcoholism is such a common condition that virtually every clinician is confronted with its complications. There are an estimated 8 million alcohol dependent people in the United States. Approximately 500,000 episodes of withdrawal severe enough to r

06/27/2016

http://alcoholwithdrawalfoundation.org/perils-july-4th-addicted

I want to impress upon everyone, that an addiction to any substance – Alcohol, Illegal Drugs, Prescription Drugs, etcetera can lead to DEATH. Yes, we all hear this ALL THE TIME. Yet, still, so many people die of WITHDRAWAL … Continue reading →

06/22/2016

Keep in Mind, Oakland Police Department has a JAIL Facility; and if this type of conduct is being committed by officers outside of the jail, you can only imagine the Inmate abuse going on INSIDE the Jail. It will be interesting to see how many detainees have died in jail over withdrawal issues; We will certainly be digging for that information! Hope and Pray that this issue at OPD is resolved quickly and returns to being a SERVE AND PROTECT force rather than an ABUSE AND MURDER force. http://usuncut.com/news/oakland-police-multiple-scandals/

This is grotesque.

06/08/2016

We are working very hard on putting together information and resources for everyone nationwide - Such as contact information for jails/prisons to reach the captains/administrators/medical staff as well as developing resources to help reach the right people to insure loved ones receive proper care upon arrest.

06/07/2016

This article hit me in the gut - HARD. Not only have I lost a loved one while in Jail due to untreated Alcohol Withdrawal, I have a number of medical conditions including Fibromyalgia, Severe Anxiety, TOS, and a Fear of Law Enforcement. I take several different Prescription Medications for Pain, Anxiety and depression. While I would never deliberately break a law; these types of instances only increases my fear of Law Enforcement and I tend to stay home, isolating myself, protecting myself. What if I get pulled over and taken to jail on something silly or in a case of mistaken identity and I don't receive my medications, or the 'jail house' Dr / nurse decides to change my meds . . . This kind of death could happen to me so easily and it scares the living crap out of me! Death due to withdrawal of Alcohol, prescription drugs or illegal drugs is a form of torture and when it happens to someone who has just been arrested, in my opinion, it is a form of Murder. There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for not providing immediate and proper medical care to an alcoholic, addict or someone with a medical condition with valid prescriptions for their medications.

FairWarning found that where California Forensic Medical Group provided both medical and mental health services, jails had a slightly higher mortality rate than other county lockups.

06/07/2016

While researching and finding these stories; I find it remarkable that so many of the deaths occurred during the Month of April . . .

Jail should have prevented alcohol-withdrawal death, lawyer says Erin Beck , Staff Writer June 5, 2016 Share This Copy Link Night Reading Adjust Text Size A A A Phillip Board At the age of 32, Phillip Ross Board, of Dunbar, died in his cell at South Central Regional Jail on April 5. Board’s family b...

06/07/2016

Alcohol Withdrawal Deaths upon arrest in Jails is an Epidemic! We need to take action!

A Greensburg man who died after being incarcerated at Decatur County Jail succumbed to complications from alcohol withdrawal, the coroner has ruled.

06/07/2016

No Immunity for those responsible, however we need to make it so that the families not only receive a monetary award, but those responsible should also receive a jail sentence. This type of death is no different than manslaughter and in some cases, murder.