The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office announced that a 68-year-old male detainee passed away Saturday at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital after suffering from cancer.
A release said the man, who was unidentified, was homeless and declined to provide family contact information.
The Cobb Sheriff’s Office said “he was last arrested for violating restrictions based on his sex offender status,” but didn’t say how long he had been in custody.
“All signs pointed to this individual being homeless with no access to medical care,” Sheriff Craig Owens in a statement. “We believe he wanted to be arrested so he could live his remaining weeks in a more comfortable environment.”
The Sheriff’s Office said that following a medical screening upon his arrest “it became clear he was facing a serious health challenge.”
He was “routinely” taken to Kennestone for treatment, and “due to the detainee’s sex offender status and to protect the public, Sheriff Owens mandated that he remain incarcerated.”
Owens said in the release that “I say often that jails across our metro and the state have become de facto hospitals and mental health facilities.
“This detainee’s death is another example of that fact, and we must collectively do more outside of the criminal justice system so that folks don’t intentionally go to jail to receive life or death medical treatment.”
Related:
- Ex-officer indicted for shooting death in NE Cobb car chase
- Student arrested after stabbing at Sprayberry HS
- Man gets life for killing friend at Delk Road apartments
- Homicide suspect in Windy Hill Road stabbing surrenders
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