BAXLEY, Ga. (AP) - A video that was part of an investigation into a man’s death in a south Georgia jail shows him lying on the floor of his cell for nearly five hours before he died. Relatives tell WTOC-TV, which obtained the video, that it bolsters their case that Kelsey Rayner’s death in the Appling County jail in 2017 could have been prevented.
“Shame on you for letting this man lay there on the floor and die and you watch him die,” said Telly Rayner, the dead man’s brother.
Rayner’s widow is pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit, claiming her husband would have survived with timely medical attention.
The man was arrested on two misdemeanor charges of harassing phone calls and disorderly conduct on July 15, 2017, with a bonding company revoking Rayner’s bond on previous charges.
Eleven days later, Rayner was found dead on the floor of his cell. He died from sepsis, a deadly infection caused by a ruptured colon.
A Georgia Bureau of Investigation report obtained by WTOC-TV shows Rayner complained of back and stomach pains on July 20. Nurse Christi Turner ordered a lab for Rayner’s liver function to be done on July 22. The nurse told GBI agents that a physician was at the jail on July 25, the day before Rayner died, but didn’t examine Rayner because that test hadn’t been completed.
Agents interviewed jailers who performed checks on Rayner in the days before his death. Both Cpl. Ernestina Merced and Officer Brandon Griffis said they thought little of Rayner laying on the floor, saying it had done it previously while jailed.
“We tried to get him in the bed and he wouldn’t get in the bed, but he’s been responsive and breathing, making…not talking, kind of making noises, not painful noises,” Griffis told GBI agents.
Medical reports showed Rayner had been diagnosed with depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
“When you schizophrenic, you know how they behave, I took it as if that’s behavior of a schizophrenic,” Merced said.
According to the county’s jail policy, inmates who are mentally or emotionally disordered should receive in-person surveillance every 15 minutes. However, the jail log shows Rayner was checked on every 30 minutes at best.
Merced checked on Rayner at 9:30 p.m. About 30 minutes later Griffis was sent to the cell because a guard in a control tower couldn’t hear anything from Rayner’s cell.
Griffis found Rayner wasn’t breathing and started CPR, which he and another jailer continued until paramedics arrived.
Family members said they believed Rayner had died due to natural causes, because that is what the sheriff’s office told them.
They recently learned more and watched the video, and said they now believe District Attorney Jackie Johnson should have sought criminal charges.
Johnson sent a letter to the GBI investigator saying, “I do not believe there is sufficient evidence to support the elements of a crime or any identifiable suspect to charge.”
Appling County Sheriff Mark Melton declined to comment, citing the pending lawsuit. Johnson didn’t respond to a request for comment.
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