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US DC: D.C. Jail Stay Ends in Death For Quadriplegic MD Man
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1394/a10.html
Newshawk: End Marijuana Prohibition: www.mpp.org
Votes: 0
Pubdate: Fri, 01 Oct 2004
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2004 The Washington Post Company
Contact: letters@washpost.com
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Henri E. Cauvin, Washington Post Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm ( Cannabis )
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm ( Cannabis - Medicinal )
D.C. JAIL STAY ENDS IN DEATH FOR QUADRIPLEGIC MD MAN
Care Provided By Hospital, Corrections Dept. In Question
Jonathan Magbie, a 27-year-old Mitchellville man, was sent to jail in the
District last week for 10 days for marijuana possession.
He never made it home.
Paralyzed as a child and unable to even breathe on his own, Magbie died last
Friday after being shuttled between the D.C. jail complex and Greater
Southeast Community Hospital.
At the center of the many questions surrounding his death is whether D.C.
Superior Court and the D.C. Department of Corrections did enough to ensure
adequate care for the quadriplegic inmate.
An investigation is underway, but that is little solace to his family, which
marched on the courthouse this week with signs accusing the judge of killing
Magbie.
"I'm not saying that he shouldn't have been punished, because he did smoke
the marijuana," his mother, Mary Scott, said yesterday, a day after burying
her son. "I just don't think it should have cost him his life."
By the standards of D.C. Superior Court, the 10-day sentence rendered by
Judge Judith E. Retchin was unusually punitive for a first-time offender
such as Magbie. Along with his defense attorney, Boniface Cobbina, a
pre-sentence report had recommended probation, and the U.S. attorney's
office had not objected.
But Retchin rejected probation alone. A former federal prosecutor who
became a Superior Court judge in 1992, Retchin is known to dispense stiff
sentences.
Police, she pointed out, found a gun and cocaine in the vehicle in which
Magbie was stopped in April 2003. And, despite pleading guilty to the
marijuana charge, Magbie told pre-sentence investigators that he would
continue using the drug, which he said made him feel better.
"Mr. Magbie, I'm not giving you straight probation," the judge said,
according to a transcript of the Sept. 20 proceedings. "Although you did
not plead guilty to having this gun, it is just unacceptable to be riding
around in a car with a loaded gun in this city."
Details about Magbie's death were first reported by WJLA-TV ( Channel 7 ).
Magbie was struck by a drunk driver when he was 4 years old; he was
paralyzed from the neck down, and his growth was stunted. Barely five feet
tall and 120 pounds, he moved around on a motorized wheelchair that he
operated with his chin.
For most everything else, from scratching an itch on his head to flushing
his lungs of accumulated fluid, he had to rely on others. Along with his
family, he had nursing care 20 hours a day.
"Jonathan was totally dependent," his mother said. "He couldn't do anything
for himself."
Asked how her son was able to inhale marijuana, Scott said only that "he
learned to do a lot of things."
Ahead of Magbie's sentencing, a staff member in Retchin's chambers contacted
the office of Chief Judge Rufus G. King III to find out whether the D.C.
Corrections Department would be able to house a paralyzed person in a
wheelchair. The answer from the chief judge's office, which is the liaison
with Corrections, was yes.
Leah Gurowitz, a court spokeswoman, said yesterday that the full extent of
Magbie's paralysis was inadvertently not relayed to the chief judge's
office.
In a statement yesterday, Retchin said she was led to believe "that Mr.
Magbie's medical needs could be met; this was such an unintended tragedy. I
would like to convey my deepest sympathy to Mr. Magbie's family."
Even the Correctional Treatment Facility, a jail annex that houses many
inmates with medical or security needs, would not have been able to readily
care for a prisoner such as Magbie, Philip Fornaci, executive director of
the D.C. Prisoners' Legal Services Project, said yesterday.
"I certainly would not say they killed him or any conclusion like that,"
Fornaci said. "But it certainly seems likely that he wouldn't have died if
he hadn't gone to jail."
The initial medical evaluation of Magbie after his arrival at the D.C. jail
on Sept. 20 found him in need of "acute medical attention," according to
the Corrections Department. Within hours, Magbie was moved to Greater
Southeast Community Hospital.
The nature of the medical problem was not specified in a chronology issued
by the Corrections Department, which declined to make officials available to
comment on the specifics of the case. The timeline shows that Magbie
arrived at the jail at 2 p.m. and that he was taken to the hospital at 9:40
p.m. What happened in between is not explained.
The next day, Magbie was discharged and placed in the Correctional Treatment
Facility, the jail annex that is operated by Corrections Corporation of
America under a contract with the city. But almost from the moment Magbie
arrived there, a senior doctor was concerned that Magbie might not receive
the care he needed, according to his mother and a court official.
The court official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the doctor
believed that Magbie belonged at the hospital and pressed Greater Southeast,
which handles inmate hospitalizations, to take him back. But the hospital
rebuffed the request, the official said.
Hoping to change the hospital's mind, the physician asked Retchin to issue a
court order, the official said. But the judge declined, saying she lacked
the authority to issue any such order.
The hospital said in a statement that it could not comment because of
federal privacy regulations. It said that it provides "top-quality" care.
Apparently resigned to having him stay on at the jail annex, the medical
staff decided after a couple of days of back-and-forth with Magbie's mother
and attorney to allow Magbie's mother to bring his ventilator.
Told to bring the device down Friday morning, she did, showing up about 10
a.m. A half-hour earlier, she would later learn, her son had been taken by
ambulance back to Greater Southeast.
That night, she received a call from a warden telling her that her son was
dead.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake
************************
Mark
Sign on my front door
___________________________
Notice posted.
This is not a peanut free zone!
The use of adult beverages, tobacco products, sugar,
salt, caffeine, high fat foods and fir
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n 10/2/04 10:25 AM, in article EBt7d.285610$4o.131540@fed1read01,
"Mark2101" <Markss2101@cox.net> wrote:
US DC: D.C. Jail Stay Ends in Death For Quadriplegic MD Man
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1394/a10.html
Newshawk: End Marijuana Prohibition: www.mpp.org
Votes: 0
Pubdate: Fri, 01 Oct 2004
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2004 The Washington Post Company
Contact: letters@washpost.com
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Henri E. Cauvin, Washington Post Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm ( Cannabis )
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm ( Cannabis - Medicinal )
D.C. JAIL STAY ENDS IN DEATH FOR QUADRIPLEGIC MD MAN
Care Provided By Hospital, Corrections Dept. In Question
Jonathan Magbie, a 27-year-old Mitchellville man, was sent to jail in the
District last week for 10 days for marijuana possession.
He never made it home.
Paralyzed as a child and unable to even breathe on his own, Magbie died last
Friday after being shuttled between the D.C. jail complex and Greater
Southeast Community Hospital.
At the center of the many questions surrounding his death is whether D.C.
Superior Court and the D.C. Department of Corrections did enough to ensure
adequate care for the quadriplegic inmate.
An investigation is underway, but that is little solace to his family, which
marched on the courthouse this week with signs accusing the judge of killing
Magbie.
"I'm not saying that he shouldn't have been punished, because he did smoke
the marijuana," his mother, Mary Scott, said yesterday, a day after burying
her son. "I just don't think it should have cost him his life."
By the standards of D.C. Superior Court, the 10-day sentence rendered by
Judge Judith E. Retchin was unusually punitive for a first-time offender
such as Magbie. Along with his defense attorney, Boniface Cobbina, a
pre-sentence report had recommended probation, and the U.S. attorney's
office had not objected.
But Retchin rejected probation alone. A former federal prosecutor who
became a Superior Court judge in 1992, Retchin is known to dispense stiff
sentences.
Police, she pointed out, found a gun and cocaine in the vehicle in which
Magbie was stopped in April 2003. And, despite pleading guilty to the
marijuana charge, Magbie told pre-sentence investigators that he would
continue using the drug, which he said made him feel better.
"Mr. Magbie, I'm not giving you straight probation," the judge said,
according to a transcript of the Sept. 20 proceedings. "Although you did
not plead guilty to having this gun, it is just unacceptable to be riding
around in a car with a loaded gun in this city."
Details about Magbie's death were first reported by WJLA-TV ( Channel 7 ).
Magbie was struck by a drunk driver when he was 4 years old; he was
paralyzed from the neck down, and his growth was stunted. Barely five feet
tall and 120 pounds, he moved around on a motorized wheelchair that he
operated with his chin.
For most everything else, from scratching an itch on his head to flushing
his lungs of accumulated fluid, he had to rely on others. Along with his
family, he had nursing care 20 hours a day.
"Jonathan was totally dependent," his mother said. "He couldn't do anything
for himself."
Asked how her son was able to inhale marijuana, Scott said only that "he
learned to do a lot of things."
Ahead of Magbie's sentencing, a staff member in Retchin's chambers contacted
the office of Chief Judge Rufus G. King III to find out whether the D.C.
Corrections Department would be able to house a paralyzed person in a
wheelchair. The answer from the chief judge's office, which is the liaison
with Corrections, was yes.
Leah Gurowitz, a court spokeswoman, said yesterday that the full extent of
Magbie's paralysis was inadvertently not relayed to the chief judge's
office.
In a statement yesterday, Retchin said she was led to believe "that Mr.
Magbie's medical needs could be met; this was such an unintended tragedy. I
would like to convey my deepest sympathy to Mr. Magbie's family."
Even the Correctional Treatment Facility, a jail annex that houses many
inmates with medical or security needs, would not have been able to readily
care for a prisoner such as Magbie, Philip Fornaci, executive director of
the D.C. Prisoners' Legal Services Project, said yesterday.
"I certainly would not say they killed him or any conclusion like that,"
Fornaci said. "But it certainly seems likely that he wouldn't have died if
he hadn't gone to jail."
The initial medical evaluation of Magbie after his arrival at the D.C. jail
on Sept. 20 found him in need of "acute medical attention," according to
the Corrections Department. Within hours, Magbie was moved to Greater
Southeast Community Hospital.
The nature of the medical problem was not specified in a chronology issued
by the Corrections Department, which declined to make officials available to
comment on the specifics of the case. The timeline shows that Magbie
arrived at the jail at 2 p.m. and that he was taken to the hospital at 9:40
p.m. What happened in between is not explained.
The next day, Magbie was discharged and placed in the Correctional Treatment
Facility, the jail annex that is operated by Corrections Corporation of
America under a contract with the city. But almost from the moment Magbie
arrived there, a senior doctor was concerned that Magbie might not receive
the care he needed, according to his mother and a court official.
The court official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the doctor
believed that Magbie belonged at the hospital and pressed Greater Southeast,
which handles inmate hospitalizations, to take him back. But the hospital
rebuffed the request, the official said.
Hoping to change the hospital's mind, the physician asked Retchin to issue a
court order, the official said. But the judge declined, saying she lacked
the authority to issue any such order.
The hospital said in a statement that it could not comment because of
federal privacy regulations. It said that it provides "top-quality" care.
Apparently resigned to having him stay on at the jail annex, the medical
staff decided after a couple of days of back-and-forth with Magbie's mother
and attorney to allow Magbie's mother to bring his ventilator.
Told to bring the device down Friday morning, she did, showing up about 10
a.m. A half-hour earlier, she would later learn, her son had been taken by
ambulance back to Greater Southeast.
That night, she received a call from a warden
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The law applies to everyone including the disabled and whacko liberal
junkies and other assorted trash.
Eric Johnson wrote:
On 10/2/04 10:25 AM, in article EBt7d.285610$4o.131540@fed1read01,
"Mark2101" <Markss2101@cox.net> wrote:
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On Sat, 02 Oct 2004 10:11:33 -0500, Jaberwokie <Jaberwokie@Global.net>
wrote:
The law applies to everyone including the disabled and whacko liberal
junkies and other assorted trash.
The law also applies to the gummit.... As in the US constitution.
Dr P
Eric Johnson wrote:
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1789-2004Oct1.html
================== Washington Post ==
An Inmate's Death
Saturday, October 2, 2004; Page A20
Judith E. Retchin, Associate Judge, D.C. Superior Court: "I checked
with the Chief's [Chief Judge Rufus G. King III] office, and the jail
should be able to accommodate all of his medical needs. I checked with
them last week."
Boniface Cobbina, an attorney for Jonathan Magbie: "Very well."
The deputy clerk: "So he doesn't need to do a medical alert?"
Judge Retchin: "Yes. He [Mr. Cobbina] still should fill out the
medical alert. I just wanted to make sure they would be able to attend
to his needs."
-- Sept. 20 transcript from the court case of Jonathan Magbie
AND WITH THAT, the proceedings were concluded, and Jonathan Magbie, a
27-year-old quadriplegic who had been unable to breathe on his own
since he was 4, was sent to a Corrections Department facility for 10
days for marijuana possession. Four days later he was dead. The short
period between sentencing and his death is a story of what can happen
when an impersonal system treats inmates as if they are nobodies with
no one to turn to.
The marijuana charge was Mr. Magbie's first offense. He pleaded guilty
to the charge but told the presentencing officials that using
marijuana made him feel better and that he didn't believe there was
anything wrong with using it. Judge Retchin also noted during
sentencing that cocaine was found in Mr. Magbie's coat and a loaded
gun in the car in which he was riding. Despite a recommendation of
probation by the presentencing office and the lack of objection from
the prosecution, Judge Retchin told Mr. Magbie that it was
unacceptable to have a loaded gun in the city. "And I believe under
all of the circumstances here, the appropriate sentence is ten days in
jail [and] a Victim's Assessment of fifty dollars."
Then the buck-passing began. After arriving at the D.C. jail, Mr.
Magbie was evaluated as needing "acute medical attention" and nearly
nine hours later was shipped to Greater Southeast Community Hospital,
which has handled inmate hospitalizations since the closure of D.C.
General Hospital. Greater Southeast, however, discharged Mr. Magbie
the next day and sent him to the Correctional Treatment Facility
(CTF), another Corrections Department unit near the jail. A physician
at the CTF concluded that Mr. Magbie belonged at the hospital and
asked that he be taken back, but Greater Southeast refused. The
physician then asked Judge Retchin to order the hospital to take Mr.
Magbie, but the judge said she didn't have the power. And there at CTF
Mr. Magbie stayed.
After his mother, Mary Scott, and his lawyer haggled with the medical
staff for two days, she was finally permitted to bring his ventilator
to the building. By the time Ms. Scott got there, her son had been
taken back to Greater Southeast. He died that night.
Yesterday, we asked the chief judge's office if the matter of Jonathan
Magbie was closed or under review. The case is closed, we were told,
but Chief Judge King has arranged a meeting with Odie Washington,
director of the Corrections Department. They will review in detail the
department's ability to handle different medical conditions at the
jail, the CTF and Greater Southeast to make sure that judges fully
understand the medical capacity of all Corrections Department
facilities. If necessary, we were advised, the chief judge would
arrange a training program for Superior Court judges.
But did Mr. Magbie deserve jail? Why was he sent to the hospital? Why
did the hospital discharge him and refuse to take him back? Why did
two days elapse before he could get his ventilator? Why is his case
closed?
================== End Clip ==
Murder.
The solution is a meeting, a training program?
Justice is not about the law. It is about what is right.
Frank Ney N4ZHG WV/EMT-B NRA(L) GOA CCRKBA JPFO ProvNRA LPWV
--
*****Smarty Jones for President!*****
Hey, if a horse's ass can be President, why not the entire horse?
United Airlines Must Die! http://www.dont-fly.com
Abuses by the BATF http://www.elfie.org/~croaker/batfabus.html
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On Sun, 03 Oct 2004 23:56:49 -0400, Frank Ney <n4zhg@icqmail.com> wrote:
What does all this wasted bandwidth have to do with anything?
Can you read the name of the newsgroup and post accordingly?
Go post your offtopic bull#@($ ELSEWHERE!
Well, this particular article didn't contain the following which came from:
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1394/a10.html
Newshawk: End Marijuana Prohibition: www.mpp.org
Votes: 0
Pubdate: Fri, 01 Oct 2004
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2004 The Washington Post Company
Contact: letters@washpost.com
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Henri E. Cauvin, Washington Post Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm ( Cannabis )
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm ( Cannabis - Medicinal )
D.C. JAIL STAY ENDS IN DEATH FOR QUADRIPLEGIC MD MAN
The article contained the following tidbit which I found interesting in that
it seems Jonathan Magbie, being a quadriplegic and unable to run from
trouble, was concerned with his safety. Seeing as how the gummit has forced
him to deal with those less than honorable in order to get his medication, I
would be carrying a gun too. Especially in D.C.
********************
From the article:
"But Retchin rejected probation alone. A former federal prosecutor who
became a Superior Court judge in 1992, Retchin is known to dispense stiff
sentences.
"Police, she pointed out, found a gun and cocaine in the vehicle in which
Magbie was stopped in April 2003. And, despite pleading guilty to the
marijuana charge, Magbie told pre-sentence investigators that he would
continue using the drug, which he said made him feel better.
"Mr. Magbie, I'm not giving you straight probation," the judge said,
according to a transcript of the Sept. 20 proceedings. "Although you did
not plead guilty to having this gun, it is just unacceptable to be riding
around in a car with a loaded gun in this city."
Mark
..
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"Mark2101" <Markss2101@cox.net> wrote in message news:<EBt7d.285610$4o.131540@fed1read01>...
US DC: D.C. Jail Stay Ends in Death For Quadriplegic MD Man
Jonathan Magbie, a 27-year-old Mitchellville man, was sent to jail in the
District last week for 10 days for marijuana possession.
He never made it home.
Paralyzed as a child and unable to even breathe on his own, Magbie died last
Friday after being shuttled between the D.C. jail complex and Greater
Southeast Community Hospital.
At the center of the many questions surrounding his death is whether D.C.
Superior Court and the D.C. Department of Corrections did enough to ensure
adequate care for the quadriplegic inmate.
An investigation is underway, but that is little solace to his family, which
marched on the courthouse this week with signs accusing the judge of killing
Magbie.
"I'm not saying that he shouldn't have been punished, because he did smoke
the marijuana," his mother, Mary Scott, said yesterday, a day after burying
her son. "I just don't think it should have cost him his life."
You know what the repugs say to this. "Hey dood - if you don't want
to go to jail, don't break the law." Then they go out on the highways
and drive 90 mph while drunk and kill someone and say "I'm no criminal
- it was an accident."
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