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SALT LAKE CITY — The family of a man who died of starvation in the Salt Lake County Metro Jail is breaking their silence about their $1.7 million lawsuit against the jail and Sheriff Jim Winder. They say the jail failed to give him medication for his mental illness, which led to his death.
Carlos Umana refused to eat while in jail, believing someone was trying to poison him.
His mom, Tammy Martinez, says she told officials at the jail in early November that her son needed medication for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. When she saw him in February, she could tell something was very wrong.
"He was in handcuffs and he looked like he couldn't hold hid head up. He was so skinny," Martinez said.
She says that wasn't the only sign of a problem jailers should have picked up on.
"Carlos only took two showers out of the whole four months," Martinez said. "Could they see he was sick?"
"[He] died of starvation in the Salt Lake County Jail on February 27, 2001, starvation and dehydration, which is an astonishing thing that something like that would have happened," says Robert Sykes, the attorney representing Umana's family.
Sykes says the jail could have gotten a court order to force-feed and forcibly medicate Umana.
Email: pnelson@ksl.com
