MEMPHIS, Tennessee —
A Memphis family is demanding answers after an inmate at the Shelby County Jail dies.
The 47-year-old man sat in jail for two weeks on a domestic aggravated assault charge before a judge appointed him an attorney. It was only after his bail was posted, did anyone find out he was dead.
The Shelby County Sheriff's Office said they are investigating last week’s death of an inmate, Richard Willingham. His family's lawyer has a lot of questions.
"The sheriff has not provided them significant answers as to what happened to them. He does not appear to have received medical treatment quickly enough to to prevent him from dying. The family is deeply concerned his medical needs were not attended to in a timely fashion, said Brice Timmons, lawyer for family.
Timmons says at this point the family doesn't know what killed the man last week, but says the delay in being appointed a public defender was unacceptable.
"He had a right to be treated humanely. He had a right to be treated like a person,” said Timmons.
Willingham was arrested June 30th. His video arraignment was continued a couple of times. He was finally appointed a lawyer July 14th. Advocates for justice reform say sitting in jail that long without counsel violates a person's civil rights but say delays like that are all too common in Shelby County.
"This is not how it works in most communities. This is not how it works in most communities in Tennessee. We do this because it helps judges manage their dockets. It helps the system, the volume we generate here in Shelby County, " said Josh Spickler, Just City Lawyer.
Spickler, with Just City, a nonprofit group that helps bail people out of jail, said if a lawyer had been appointed earlier, the inmate may have received whatever medical care was needed or may not have even been in jail because Just City was paying his bond. Only after Spickler paid the man’s $5,000 bond he learned of the death. Spickler says it's just another example of the systemic racism that exists in the justice system in Shelby County.
"This man did not get justice, and the reason his justice was delayed was because he was a poor man of color in Memphis,Tennessee," said Spickler.
The family’s lawyer said he doesn't don't know if COVID-19 in the jail factored into how Willingham's case was handled. Local 24 News reporter Jeni DiPrizio called the judge to ask why it took so long for Willingham to be appointed an attorney. So far, he hasn't called us back. Those close to the case say Willingham was coughing up blood in court the day he was assigned a public defender.
A statement from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said, “The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of detainee Richard Willingham, who was booked into the Jail on June 30, 2020. On July 14, 2020, he was transported to Regional One hospital, underwent a procedure, and expired several hours later. Preliminary information suggests that his death was due to a preexisting medical condition. However, the official cause of death has yet to be determined by the medical examiner. This is an ongoing investigation.Information about the court proceedings details can be found at the Shelby County Criminal Justice System portal."