CHARLESTON, S.C. (26 JULY 2021) Read the full article Jamal Sutherland’s mother says ‘Justice was denied’ on decision to not file charges in son’s death
Jamal Sutherland was booked into the Al Cannon Detention Center on Jan. 4 and died approximately 12 hours later. Jamal Sutherland died on January 5, 2021, after being extracted from a cell within Charleston County’s detention center (Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center – SACDC). Sutherland should not have died the way he did and he was not at fault. Sutherland was mentally ill and he did exactly what we ask of those who suffer from mental illness: he sought professional help when he needed it. Sutherland checked himself into a mental health facility and decompensated while he was there. He was concerned about his treatment there and knew he was not getting better. Sutherland attempted to check himself out the day before he died.
“We only know that two people got away with murder,” Amy Sutherland said during a press conference on Monday afternoon. “You tortured my child.”
Amy Sutherland and her family said they were very disappointed with the decision not to prosecute and had hoped charges would be forthcoming. The family said the deputies were not blameless even if they were following protocol. “Everybody knows at the end of the day what is right and what is wrong,” said Sutherland’s brother.
CHARLESTON, S.C. (26 JULY 2021) Read the full article Solicitor won’t file charges for Charleston deputies in Sutherland’s death, but FBI also investigating
Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said she will not file charges against two Charleston County detention deputies in the January death of Jamal Sutherland. She said she can’t bring a case she knows she can’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt. “And I cannot prove criminal intent beyond a reasonable doubt in this case,” she said. “While armchair lawyers and judges, and even armchair law enforcement have made it seem as though the videos in this case are the only evidence that we would need, I know better,” she said, citing her experience in prosecuting cases.
“It was wrong, but within the sheriff’s office on Jan. 5, 2020, it wasn’t rogue,” she said. “It had happened many times before. And there was a pat on the back and a march onto the next one.”
Detention Sgt. Lindsay Fickett and Detention Deputy Brian Houle killed Jamal Sutherland.
Gary Raney, an expert on the use of force, analyzed the evidence in the case: “The commander of the jail ordered a forcible cell extraction to Mr. Sutherland, even though it’s violated the policy of the sheriff’s office,” Rainey said. “There was insufficient staffing in the jail to do a cell extraction.” Raney said Houle was the only detention deputy certified to do a cell extraction. Fickett was not certified to do a cell extraction.
The deputies entering Sutherland’s cell while wearing a shotgun as part of their tactical gear and as part of the problem for any law enforcement agency, which is a “human service organization.”
“When you create create an elitist mentality that become gladiators rather than guardians, you create that culture where we resort to force. There’s that old saying that if all you have is a hammer, every problem is a nail,” Raney said. “I have seen patterns where jails emphasize tactical teams too much. And out of that comes patterns of excessive force.”
