Gary "Bubba" Blair died of starvation and severe neglect while he was an inmate in the Chesterfield County Detention Center in South Carolina.
His autopsy says "deprivation of water," and the coroner ruled it a homicide.
Here's what happened:
Feb. 22: Blair is arrested and booked following a mental illness episode. Weight 292-300lbs.
April 22: A letter to his father after 2 months in jail said, "I've lost about 90 pounds so far. I'm starving to death in here; only two meals a day, that's it... you starve, and I also have to drink from my toilet and no mattress to sleep on....."
May 13: Blair wrote to Circuit Court Judge Brian Gibbons, begging for help. He told the judge the cell's water was cut off, that he had gone weeks without showering, and he was forced to drink water out of his toilet. (Because it was addressed incorrectly, the judge never got the letter)
June 3: There was a mental health commitment order declaring Gary incompetent to stand trial, and ordered the SC Department of Mental Health to take custody of him. The transfer never happened.
July 24: Jailers discovered Blair's lifeless, naked body on the floor of a feces-covered lockdown cell.
He had lost over 100lbs in less than 6 months.
Following the Blair's death, the following were fired by Sheriff Cambo Streater:
* Jail Administrator and Detention Center Director Troy Ellerbe
* Sergeant La'Kyrah Stacks (Supervisor)
* Corporal DeAndre Williams (Supervisor)
* Correctional Officer Tabius Conley
* Correctional Officer Queintin Dixon
* Correctional Officer Shalik Josey
A man was starved to death and not a single person has been arrested yet.
Now, imagine what would be happening if it was a black man forced to live like an animal, in his own excrement, drinking water from a toilet, and eventually starved to death by white jailers.
Cities would burn.
People would already be behind bars.
But here we are 74 days since his death and there is no sign of justice for his murder.
Blair's own words pointed out the deadly discrimination he faced: "No help for a white man," he wrote on April 22.
A mentally ill white man went into jail for a non-violent crime.
The judge ordered him to be transported for mental health treatment.
And he was starved and deprived of water until he died.
ALT Gary Blair