McCracken County Commissioners are considering a vote of 'no confidence' in their jailer following a slew of issues including the death of an inmate this week.
Commissioners are concerned with the safety of inmates and employees at the county jail as the state police continue an investigation into the death of 33-year-old Joshua Fuson of Paducah.
First responders transported Fuson from the McCracken County Jail to a local hospital Sunday after he became unresponsive. He died at the hospital on Tuesday. Preliminary autopsy reports are not yet available. Kentucky State Police say it could be six months before a complete autopsy is made public.
McCracken County Coroner Dan Sims has recused himself from the investigation amid concerns of conflict of interest. Sims is running for jailer in the November elections.
The case has been transferred to the Livingston County Coroner's office, according to Commissioner Bill Bartleman. He says he needs answers from Deputy Jailer Tonya Ray:
“After she was in the office about six months she was $200,000 over on her payroll budget on overtime [...] turnover has been high-- there’s 60 employees in the jail, 50 people have either resigned or been fired.” Explained Bartleman.
Bartleman is concerned the high turnover rate is placing inmates and workers at risk due to an inability to properly train staff. He said according to a coroner report that Fuson was brought into jail and observed by another inmate, rather than a trained health professional.
“They had another inmate watching him and he wound up having problems and wound up passing away. So there's just a lot of things going on over there.” Bartleman said there is “a lot to be concerned about.”
Tonya Ray is also facing charges of perjury while running for re-election. Bartleman said a
McCracken County Fiscal Court meetingis tentatively scheduled for Monday, but whether or not Ray will appear has not been confirmed. He says if a vote of no confidence is successful it will have no impact except perhaps on voters decisions to re-elect her in November. The only oversight the court has over the jail is the budget and salaries of employees.
Ray has not responded to requests for comment.
