Russell County inmate found dead in cell, sheriff said

Nearly a month after arriving at the Russell County Jail on a second-degree burglary charge, an inmate was found hanging from his bunk late Thursday, Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor said Friday.

James Francis Devitt, 33, of Phenix City was pronounced dead of possible hanging at 11:20 p.m. inside his cell, said Russell County Corner Arthur Sumbry Jr. His body has been sent to the Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery for an autopsy.

Devitt was in the day space about 6:15 p.m. to receive his medication from a correctional officer. Around 9 p.m. or 9:15 p.m., Taylor said an inmate walked by his cell and saw him hanging from the bed sheet. “By the time we got there to enter the cell, he had passed,“ the sheriff said.

Taylor said no foul play is suspected in the death.

Sumbry said the death remains under investigation by the coroner’s office and the sheriff called in the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to investigate.

Devitt left a couple of handwritten notes in his cell, one to his family and another to an inmate friend.

“The letters were simply saying goodbye to his loved ones and he was sorry in what he was doing here,” Taylor said.

Phenix City police arrested Devitt on July 18 on the burglary charge. A bond was provided but he was unable to make it. He was homeless, listing a field as his address.

The jail has protocols in place for inmates with mental health issues. The inmate eventually will be placed back into the general population, the sheriff said.

“It’s one of those things where if somebody wants to do this, I don’t know if we’re going to be able to completely stop it,” Taylor said. “We don’t have 24/hour monitoring inside the cell. They have their own personal space. They are in a facility.”

Taylor said the inmate’s family will be given a copy of the letters.

“Just want to send condolences to the family,” he said. “We know it’s going to be difficult at some point.“

This is the second death of a Russell County Jail inmate since July 2. Shirlee Miles, 64, died at Jack Hughston Memorial Hospital in Phenix City after falling ill at the lockup. Described as homeless, Miles was picked up by the Phenix City Police Department on May 23 for disorderly conduct, second-degree criminal trespassing and resisting arrest, all misdemeanors, and her release date was set the day after she died.

This story was originally published August 17, 2018 at 1:18 PM.