DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The family of an inmate who collapsed and died inside the DeKalb County Jail said the sheriff, jailers, and EMTs share the blame for his death, even though he took drugs that another inmate gave him.
Army veteran Christon Collins, 36, died in jail in March 2024. Channel 2’s Tom Jones heard from Collins’ family members and their attorney on Tuesday.
Well-known civil rights attorney Ben Crump says Collins’ family got a birthday gift when the inmate who gave him the drugs that led to his death pleaded guilty to distributing drugs in jail on Tuesday.
But Crump says more people at the jail played a role in Collins’ death and should be held accountable.
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“We are announcing the filing of a 1983 civil rights wrongful death lawsuit,” Crump said.
He said DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddux would be named in the suit, along with jailers who did nothing for more than three hours while Collins was on the ground in distress from the drugs.
Collins’ mother, Dr. Jonia Milburn, says so many people failed her son that day last year.
“The pictures show seven guards, all of them walking away with their backs to him,” she said. “He was a human being. He was not an animal.”
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Milburn said it was a bittersweet day, with it being her son’s birthday on Tuesday.
She’s happy that Tobias Woods pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years for giving her son the drugs in jail. But she says that’s not enough.
“Even if they had given him life, that wouldn’t have satisfied me because he was not the only person,” Milburn said.
The sheriff’s office sent a statement that said, in light of potential litigation, the sheriff’s office is unable to comment.
Collins’ mother said he was a fighter and she will keep fighting to get justice for him.
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