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Jamie Lynn Russell
Oklahoma for some reason seems to continually be the source of the the most extreme uncompassionate stories in the Drug War. Last month Oklahoman Patricia Spottedcrow was released from her 12 year prison sentence for a joint of marijuana.
This month, pregnant Jamie Lynn Russell, age 33, is the latest drug war victim in Oklahoma. According to KFOR-TV News Channel 4 in Oklahoma City, Russell, went to the hospital in Pauls Valley earlier this month seeking help for severe abdominal pain. Hospital staff reported that Russell wouldn’t cooperate and was in too much pain to even lie down, so they asked a Paul’s Valley police officer to assist.
That's when things got ugly. Apparently the officer found 2 prescription pills on Russell who did not have a prescription for the pills.
She was arrested on drug possession charges and found unresponsive in her cell 2 hours later.
“There is nothing my staff in the jail could’ve done differently,” Garvin County sheriff Larry Rhodes said. “She had a medical release from the hospital stating that she was fit for incarceration,” Rhodes said. “It’s very regrettable for the family. My heart and prayers go out to them.”
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has cleared the jail staff of any criminal wrongdoing.
The state medical examiner’s office later confirmed that Russell died from a ruptured ecoptic pregnancy, where the embryo implants outside the uterus.
Russell’s friends and family are pointing the finger at the hospital. “Jamie was seeking help; she was in extreme pain,” family friend Kemper Kimberlin told KFOR. “We want to see this come to light. Something’s wrong and needs to be fixed.”
The drug war kicked common sense to the curb long ago. It's time to start treating people in pain, like they are in pain, rather than treating them like criminals.
