The family of a man who died while an inmate in the Greene County jail said his death was preventable and requested that measures be taken by the jail to keep this from happening again. The family’s statement said he hanged himself.
A statement from Greene County Sheriff George Dallaire said the Indiana State Police are conducting an investigation.
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Jack “Jay” Farmer, 43, was charged July 10 with burglary and theft. He was charged with stealing a sports drink, according to the family.
“He had gone into someone’s home and showed unusual behavior not typical of someone intending to steal,” the statement read. “He had folded blankets, given a dog food and water, removed a mouse from a trap.”
Farmer told family that his medications left him in a confused state. They are unsure if he continued to receive his medication in jail.
Shortly after Farmer was incarcerated, he cut off the tip of his pinky finger. While the family was told that this appeared to be an intentional act of self-harm, a mental evaluation concluded that he was not suicidal.
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The family members’ statement says they don’t know how long it took for someone to notice that Farmer hanged himself July 23. They said it took 28 minutes from the time he was found to when medical personnel got his heart beating again.
He was given CPR and an epinephrine shot, and was taken by ambulance to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville. He was put on life support, but he had almost no brain activity. He was removed from life support on July 29.
The family said he should have been on suicide watch.
“This could’ve and should’ve been prevented,” the statement reads. “If all protocol was followed by everyone involved from day one of his incarceration from the time of his hanging, then that protocol has flaws and needs to be changed.”
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Suicide is the most common unnatural cause of deaths in Indiana jails and prisons, according to a report from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.
Cathy Knapp contributed to this story.
