Family of inmate who died in jail files tort claim

IDAHO FALLS (AP) - The family members of a man who died in an eastern Idaho jail have filed a tort claim against Bonneville County.

James "Slate" DeWitt was jailed on the evening of Feb. 15 for a probation violation, and jail deputies found him dead in his cell the following morning. An autopsy determined he died of an accidental prescription drug overdose and an enlarged heart, and that he had died at least five hours before his body was found.

DeWitt's brother, Clay DeWitt, filed a tort claim against the county at the end of May, asking for medical expenses, funeral expenses and monument expenses. If the county declines to settle the tort claim, the DeWitt family will be able to sue for damages in court.

DeWitt's wife, Debi Dudley, said she called her husband's probation officer before he was booked into jail because she was afraid he'd taken too many of his prescription medications.

"He was like a zombie, and I told them he needed help," Dudley said.

She thought the officer would take him to the emergency room, not jail, she said.

"He laid there dead for so long. He shouldn't have been there," she said. "He should have been taken to the hospital."

DeWitt's death was investigated by Lemhi County Prosecutor Bruce Withers, who determined that DeWitt had taken the Xanax and Oxycodone before he was arrested. Withers determined that neither jail staffers nor fellow inmates were criminally liable for his death.

Bonneville County Sheriff Paul Wilde declined to comment on the tort claim, saying only that he was aware of it and that the matter had been turned over to the county's attorney and insurance company, Idaho Counties Risk Management Program.