A detainee at the City Justice Center in St. Louis was pronounced dead Sunday morning.
The deceased man was not identified by city officials. Interim Corrections Commissioner Doug Burris did not report a cause of death in a statement but said, “More details will be forthcoming upon the completion of the medical examiner’s report.”
Jail staff members first found the detainee on the floor Saturday. He was then taken to St. Louis University Hospital, Burris said.
“A toxicology report showed that the incident was not drug related, and seizures were suspected,” Burris said.
The detainee was treated at the hospital and discharged back to the jail.
The next morning, staff members again found him unresponsive in his cell and took him to Barnes-Jewish Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s force investigations unit is conducting an investigation and will release a report.
“While the investigation is early, there are no obvious signs of trauma, and it appears the detainee experienced a medical emergency,” said an SLMPD statement.
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At the end of last year, St. Louis Public Radio reported more people had died at the City Justice Center than had been publicly reported. As of November, there had been 18 deaths since 2020.
The CJC has had three times as many deaths as the similarly sized Jackson County Detention Center and Regional Correction Center in Kansas City during the same time period, according to reporting by St. Louis Public Radio and NPR’s Midwest Newsroom. Since 2020, the CJC has also had three times as many deaths as the St. Louis County Justice Center, which holds more inmates on average.
The deaths have sparked protests, with activists calling for changes.
“What we're talking about is human rights abuse,” said Maya Lee, an organizer at the Freedom Community Center, at a November protest at St. Louis City Hall. “These are human beings who are being thrown away to be tortured and possibly lose their lives. … This is bigger than just no more jail deaths. This is no more jails.”
In January, Mayor Tishaura Jones appointed Burris as interim corrections commissioner. Burris authored a report on the CJC that calls for more corrections officers and a mentorship program for new staff.
