Gwinnett inmate days before dying of treatable illness: 'I need to get out of here'
Deion Strayhon (R) talks to a friend during a jailhouse video call six days before his death.
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - The Gwinnett District Attorney’s Office decided no charges should be filed in the death of an inmate who complained constantly about what turned out to be a treatable condition.
Deion Strayhon, 26, was one of seven Gwinnett inmates to die last year, more than any other metro jail.
An autopsy revealed Strayhon died from a bleeding ulcer. His mother believes he should still be alive.
"I think about it every day," said Sherry Strayhon. "I just wish there was something that I could have done."
WHY ARE SO MANY INMATES DYING IN THE GWINNETT COUNTY JAIL?
Gwinnett County inmate dies from treatable illness
The Gwinnett County District Attorney decided not charges should be filed in the death of an inmate who complained for weeks about what turned out to be a treatable illness. Deion Strayhon was one of seven Gwinnett County inmates to die last year, more than any other metro jail. Neither jailers nor the medical staff believe they could have done anything differently.
The FOX 5 I-Team obtained the GBI report of Strayhon’s death. It detailed how Strayhon repeatedly sought medical help.
On April 10, 2021, six days before he would die, Strayhon called a high school friend for a video visitation, clearly frustrated with his condition.
"My stomach done hurt, man," he said. "I went to medical and them folks ain’t trying to help me… ain’t trying to do s—t."
According to jail records, on March 23, 2021, 13 days before he died, Strayhon had complained to deputies about "unexplained weight loss, constipation and abdominal pain."
He saw the jail doctor and was given a stool softener.
"I don’t know what to do man." Strayhon told his friend. "I wish I wasn’t in here, so I could go to the real f-cking yeah doctor."
On April 11, 2021, five days before he died, Strayhon was back to the jail doctor also complaining of chest pains.
One day before he died, Strayhon said he couldn’t hold down food. A nurse scheduled an appointment with a different doctor the next day.
Strayhon never saw that other doctor.
Strayhon fell from his top bunk early one morning and never regained consciousness. An autopsy revealed he died of a bleeding ulcer. (GBI report)
That was the day Strayhon fell out of his top bunk and lost consciousness. The Dacula man would die on the floor of the JJ Medical unit early that morning April 16, 2021.
Photos in the GBI report show a massive amount of blood surrounding his body.
Official cause of death: gastrointestinal hemorrhage due to a duodenal ulcer. Blood had been seeping into his intestines, then made its way into his lungs when medical staff tried to resuscitate him.
Should Strayhon’s original treatment been handled differently?
In a written statement, the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office said those decisions come through their medical contractor NaphCare.
"We contract medical healthcare providers to furnish adequate medical assistance and care to our inmate population. We depend heavily on their medical recommendations and expertise when inmates are in need of medical care. Medical requests submitted by Mr. Strayhon to the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office staff were fulfilled and provided to medical staff for review and action. We extend our prayers to the friends and family of Mr. Strayhon. It is our utmost diligence to ensure the safety, well-being, and security of all inmates in our custody."
NaphCare reported that "Correctional and Medical staffs responded appropriately and timely."
Deion Strayhon was one of seven inmates to die in the Gwinnett County jail in 2021, more than any other metro jail.
After he died, Strayhon’s cellmate and 18 others signed a letter sent to his mother, upset that Strayhon’s medical complaints had been "laughed at by a deputy" and largely ignored.
"When you’re in charge you have to make sure things are taken care of," she said in an interview during a protest near the jail. "I feel like something should be done because a life is gone. And it’s not business as usual."
Ms. Strayhon said she repeatedly called to pray with her son about his medical concerns while he waited to go to court on an aggravated assault charge.
Family and friends protest near the jail on the one-year anniversary of his death.
Earlier this year, Gwinnett County Sheriff Keybo Taylor talked to the FOX 5 I-Team in general terms about the high number of jail deaths in 2021, a number that did not cause any policy changes in his jail.
"It’s unfortunate that we have even one death," he said. "Even one is too many. But to say that we have a problem, no."
Former deputies blamed some of those deaths on low staffing issues, a concern facing law enforcement across the state.
This year, the Gwinnett County jail has reported two inmate deaths, a number similar to other metro counties. One of those deaths is considered a suicide.
But Deion Strayhon clearly did not want to die. He just needed someone to help him live.
This was his final conversation with his friend:
"I need to get out of here. See a real doctor and see what’s wrong with me. I don’t know if it’s the food I ate. I don’t know what is wrong with me."