Inmate at Dallas County Jail found dead

Published 10:24 pm Wednesday, April 9, 2014

An inmate in the Dallas County Jail died Monday due to a medical condition, according to Sheriff Harris Huffman. 

Sandra Hudson, 39, died around 6:30 a.m. on Monday. Huffman said a correctional officer found Hudson lying on the floor unresponsive after she refused to eat breakfast an hour earlier.

“A correctional officer talked to her at 5:15 a.m. and she did not want to eat her breakfast,” he said. “When the officer went back to retrieve the food trays she was unresponsive.”

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Huffman said he doesn’t believe her refusal to eat played any part in her death. Though an autopsy report by the Alabama Bureau of Investigation is pending, Huffman said her death was likely related to a medical condition that gave her seizures.

“She came in with a medical condition and continued to experience that condition during her time in jail,” Huffman said.

He said there were no signs of foul play.

At the time of her death, Huffman said Hudson was taking six different medications. She was also scheduled to attend drug rehab on Thursday.

Hudson was in jail for theft, fraudulent use of a credit card and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Hudson’s death is the second at the jail since January. On Jan. 16, Jerusalem Festes Grimes, 45, hung himself at the jail.

Huffman said the incidents aren’t a representation of the jail’s condition and are unrelated.

“It is unusual to have two inmates die in this amount of time, but they are separate incidents,” Huffman said. “It has nothing to do with the condition of the jail.”