And we know chronic pot users are the least likely to be either unstable or have been using pot recently.
The DA in the case said she smoked or ate it while she was in jail.
I don’t know what he based that on, but -
Cite.
Regards,
Shodan
No, we should not “just leave the family out of this”. The inability to find work in Illinois, the recent loss of a child, the self-identified depression in March, being stopped by police, assaulting a police officer, being unable to count on family members for bail money, and sitting in a holding cell for three days are all parts of the same puzzle.
Your wanting to exclude some pieces of the puzzle does not sound like an acceptable proposal.
That woman was in a cell with 2 other prisoners. I don’t think someone could attempt suicide without the other two noticing.
She mentioned that she felt bad that Bland was alone the whole time. She said she would have been more distraught herself if she didn’t have the other women to talk to and was alone for days on end.
If she didn’t use a garbage bag, she could have used the bed sheet, which is how the other person who committed suicide in the same jail in 2012 did it.
She also might have been able to use the* rope* that was holding the shower curtain in place (how stupid is that?).
The point is she should have been on suicide watch. They also could have moved another prisoner in there with her.
Actually, no. The statement was:
“Looking at the autopsy results and toxicology, it appears she swallowed a large quantity of marijuana or smoked it in the jail.”
So - she could have smoked it in the jail. Or she could have swallowed a large quantity of marijuana either before her arrest or in jail (which is more likely?).
The DA’s not likely an authority in this area.
The ME in the Trayvon Martin case had to walk back some stuff about pot in that case too.
That is some of the evidence for my opinion that accurate knowledge about this issue is not widespread.
That was not the point. The question is, was there a garbage can in the cell of the interviewed prisoner? If there was, it would be there in every cell. If there wasn’t, then it was especially put into Bland’s cell. I presume there was a garbage can in Pyle’s cell, but the journalist definitely should have asked that.
I think that chronic pot users are likely to be using pot chronically.
Pot users do not have much of a reputation for volatility or violence–unlike users of methamphetamine, alcohol, and some other drugs.
I suppose we’ll find out if garbage bags in cells is a violation of procedure. I thought the large pail itself would be a problem as a potential weapon if thrown, since it wasn’t bolted down.
But as far as dangerous objects in cells, a lack of garbage bags is meaningless. As I said, there were other things she could have used. She could have used her clothes, if it came down to it. The only way to prevent it is a suicide watch.
Unless there was a warrant out for her arrest for the DUI, that tells me she had probably set up some payment system with the state. Therefore, she was in the clear, and paying her dues.
March of 2013 – Bland was stopped in Crestwood Township while driving a 2013 Cadillac DeVille and received two citations – for speeding 21-25 mph above the limit, and for operating an uninsured motor vehicle. She was fined $200, which – according to Cook County Court records – has not been paid.
February of 2014 – Bland was stopped by Lombard Police and charged with operating an uninsured motor vehicle and driving with expired license plates. She was convicted in both charges and fined, but by May of 2014 court records show that she still owed $2,769.00 in fines, and the judge ordered that the Illinois Secretary of State be notified of her failure to pay.
March 3, 2014 – Naperville Police cited Bland for operating an uninsured motor vehicle. Court records show she was ordered to pay a fine, but was cited twice for failure to pay. In June of 2014 the court ordered that the Illinois Secretary of State be notified, and the docket lists a $1,313.00 balance still due.
March 8, 2014 – Approximately five days after her stop in Naperville, Bland was stopped by police in Lombard and charged with two counts of driving under the influence; speeding 15-20 mph over the speed limit; improper lane usage; disobeying a traffic control signal; failing to signal when changing lanes; driving on a suspended license, and operating an uninsured motor vehicle. The court found her guilty of one DUI charge, and all the other charges were dismissed. She received court supervision and was fined, and court records show that she still owes $3,132.00 in this case.
In addition: March 8, 2014 – Approximately five days after her stop in Naperville, Bland was stopped by police in Lombard and charged with two counts of driving under the influence; speeding 15-20 mph over the speed limit; improper lane usage; disobeying a traffic control signal; failing to signal when changing lanes; driving on a suspended license, and operating an uninsured motor vehicle. The court found her guilty of one DUI charge, and all the other charges were dismissed. She received court supervision and was fined, and court records show that she still owes $3,132.00 in this case.
Records show her license was due to be suspended July 31 for lack of insurance.
I’ve seen a few pot smokers that got pretty depressive (not that other drugs can’t/won’t do the same thing).
Now our famous poster formerly known as Dio the Cynic often argued that pot smoking made one a BETTER driver that but that won’t fly here I suppose based upon the results.
The woman had 7K+ in fines. Being in trouble with the law because of it. Admitted depression and PTSD. Admitted a suicide attempt. Was most very likely upset as hell because there was a chance she just fucked up her new job because she was in jail for resisting arrest and there was a good chance all her other fuck ups were coming home to roost as well. And I’ll throw out that she could have well kept all this embarassing info from her family up until this final point.
Hell, I get suicidal just thinking about that scenario. And that’s just the stuff we KNOW for that matter.
Naw, that fact she might have actually committed suicide needs to be questioned. Geez, anybody with an ounce of sense would be “heck, I’m not terribly surprised”.
Don’t get me wrong. Maybe she had a shitty childhood. Maybe she was mentally off. Maybe a bunch of other stuff. All in all she was probably a nice person (most people all). But she was on the train to trainwreckville and it finally happened.
I think I see what you are getting at, but [del]IME[/del] a friend told me that eating pot doesn’t make it last three days. In fact, the high fiber content of pot brownies tends, in some cases, to accelerate the exit of the material from the body, if you catch my drift. Maybe her digestive system didn’t work the same - I don’t know.
But my gosh, even if you are constipated, how much of the chronic would you have to eat to go on a three day’s high?
More likely IMO that she got hold of some during her incarceration, and decided to get a little toasted that morning and it didn’t cheer her up.
I expect some shake ups in the jail administration - not only are the prisoners hanging themselves, but are able to supply themselves like it was a college dorm.
Regards,
Shodan
Nice find.
Sounds like she had a serious driving record and was in financial hell.
Then this happened in TX. I can see the despair seeping in just over that while simmering away in jail for over 72 hrs. I’ll bet that GIANT PLASTIC BAG the jail provided started to look like a fine way out.
Missed edit window.
Of course we need to investigate properly, but after all this to be incredulous that it even might possibly be a suicide is wackadoodle.
I pretty much agree with most of what you said up to this point (except that she probably was a nice person).
We don’t know that she was just about to turn her life around with this move and a new job ahead of her.
How frustrating it would be to be SO close, and then, BAM, Officer Dick’n’balls pulls his shit for a failure to signal.*
*I know, I know… assaulting an officer, et al. Give it a rest.
I agree, nice find.
Your cite goes on to mention something else to file under “Imagine My Surprise” -
Maybe that explains her outrage at the cop - “The one time in my life when I am NOT blasted out of my mind and driving without insurance, and I STILL get busted!”
Regards,
Shodan
Bland assaulted a police officer. You can choose to ignore that part of the puzzle. Your problem is getting others to ignore the facts of the puzzle just because you say they should.
Part of the puzzle was because the officer disregarded department protocol, it unnecessarily escalated into the tragic debacle they both face.
There was a very distinctive point where the officer crossed the line, and the was from the cigarette request, onward.
This could explain why her family didn’t seem to be in hurry to post her bail. Maybe they thought Bland would be safer in a holding cell? Or at least remain sober for a few days?