Pubdate: Wed, 06 Apr 2011 Source: Augusta Chronicle, The (GA) Copyright: 2011 The Augusta Chronicle Contact: http://chronicle.augusta.com/help/contact Website: http://chronicle.augusta.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/31 Author: Valerie Rowell SISTER FAULTS JAIL'S CARE IN INMATE DEATH John Wayne Siple Had Been Charged Last Month in Marijuana Operation The sister of an Evans man who died Tuesday in custody said her brother didn't receive proper medical care. John Wayne Siple, 44, of Hereford Farm Road, was being held in the Columbia County Detention Center on charges of manufacturing marijuana. He was arrested March 24 after 86 marijuana plants and growing equipment were seized from his home. Siple's sister, Wendy Anderson, said Wednesday that her brother was not properly cared for while in custody, as he struggled with an addiction to painkillers and Xanax. "He was entitled to certain things," Anderson said. "Whatever it takes to get him through this detox program is what they were obligated to facilitate, and they did not do that." Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said the jail nursing staff decided Siple needed a hospital evaluation Tuesday afternoon. While in the jail shower preparing for the trip, Siple collapsed, Morris said. Siple was immediately taken to Doctors Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:44 p.m. Columbia County Deputy Coroner Harriett Garrison said no foul play is suspected. An autopsy at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab did not determine a cause of death, which is pending a toxicology test, she said. Morris said he could not discuss the details of Siple's care and medical records because of privacy laws and an ongoing internal investigation, which is protocol after an in-custody death. "His medical records will be disclosed after the investigation is complete," Morris said. Anderson said she spoke Monday to jail medical staff and was told Siple "wasn't doing well," but that his vital signs were being monitored and were fine. Anderson claimed that when a deputy arrived at her home to inform her of Siple's death, he also said her brother had been nearly catatonic, barely eating and sometimes refusing medication. "All I would have asked, I was his emergency contact person, was for them to call me and say, 'We need to consult with you about his medical care,' " Anderson said. "He was not in the state of mind to make his own medical decisions." Morris said the jail medical staff followed protocols designed for inmates who arrive at the facility with substance abuse issues. The staff deals regularly with inmate substance abuse problems. "Protocols range from observation to medication," Morris said. "Not all inmates will be administered medication. It depends on the patient and the substance." All inmates "detoxing" from substances are closely monitored, he said. The decision for medical intervention, Morris said, belongs to the jail medical staff. "So that decision is not made by Columbia County Sheriff's Office employees," Morris said, "but they are made by medical staff of both nurses and physicians in concert." Morris said the last death of an inmate was Feb. 26, 2009, when Roger Allen Tyler, 46, of Hephzibah, died of natural causes while sleeping in his cell. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.