Spokane County Jail inmate dies, eighth inmate death in 14 months

SPOKANE, Wash. — UPDATE: The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the female inmate who died as 55-year-old Cindy Hill.

Hill died from acute bacterial peritonitis due to ruptured liver adhesions.

UPDATE: The Spokane County Human Rights Task Force released a statement from Board Chair Dean Lynch Monday regarding the continued inmate deaths at the Spokane County Jail.

“The news today that the 8th inmate in the last 14 months has died at the Spokane County Jail should profoundly concern all of us. It is essential that as a community we stand for basic human rights in all environments, especially for the human rights, dignity and safety of the men and women incarcerated in our correctional systems.

Many who are incarcerated suffer from the challenges of mental illness and addiction. Many are extremely vulnerable and at-risk. We have a duty to protect their safety and their very lives while they are incarcerated. We strongly urge the county to investigate what seems to be an alarming trend of inmate deaths and take steps to make changes, evaluate previous recommendations, and implement changes so that future inmate deaths can be avoided.”

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A Spokane County Jail inmate died at a local hospital Saturday night after she was found unresponsive in her cell.

Spokane County Spokesperson Jared Webley told KXLY the woman was found Saturday at 5:25 p.m. Staff provided life-saving efforts and she was taken to the hospital where doctors confirmed her death.

Webley said her cellmate was hospitalized later that night for an unspecified medical emergency. He said she was still alive as of Sunday afternoon, but he did not have any more details about her condition.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office will continue the investigation. The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office will release the deceased woman’s identity along with how she died.

According to records and past reports by KXLY, this is the eighth Spokane County Jail inmate to die in the past 14 months.

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