SISTER FAULTS JAIL'S CARE IN INMATE DEATH

John Wayne Siple Had Been Charged Last Month in Marijuana
Operation

The sister of an Evans man who died Tuesday in custody said her
brother didn't receive proper medical care.

John Wayne Siple, 44, of Hereford Farm Road, was being held in the
Columbia County Detention Center on charges of manufacturing
marijuana. He was arrested March 24 after 86 marijuana plants and
growing equipment were seized from his home.

Siple's sister, Wendy Anderson, said Wednesday that her brother was
not properly cared for while in custody, as he struggled with an
addiction to painkillers and Xanax.

"He was entitled to certain things," Anderson said. "Whatever it takes
to get him through this detox program is what they were obligated to
facilitate, and they did not do that."

Columbia County sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said the jail nursing
staff decided Siple needed a hospital evaluation Tuesday afternoon.
While in the jail shower preparing for the trip, Siple collapsed,
Morris said. Siple was immediately taken to Doctors Hospital, where he
was pronounced dead at 3:44 p.m.

Columbia County Deputy Coroner Harriett Garrison said no foul play is
suspected. An autopsy at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab
did not determine a cause of death, which is pending a toxicology
test, she said.

Morris said he could not discuss the details of Siple's care and
medical records because of privacy laws and an ongoing internal
investigation, which is protocol after an in-custody death.

"His medical records will be disclosed after the investigation is
complete," Morris said.

Anderson said she spoke Monday to jail medical staff and was told
Siple "wasn't doing well," but that his vital signs were being
monitored and were fine.

Anderson claimed that when a deputy arrived at her home to inform her
of Siple's death, he also said her brother had been nearly catatonic,
barely eating and sometimes refusing medication.

"All I would have asked, I was his emergency contact person, was for
them to call me and say, 'We need to consult with you about his
medical care,' " Anderson said. "He was not in the state of mind to
make his own medical decisions."

Morris said the jail medical staff followed protocols designed for
inmates who arrive at the facility with substance abuse issues. The
staff deals regularly with inmate substance abuse problems.

"Protocols range from observation to medication," Morris said. "Not
all inmates will be administered medication. It depends on the patient
and the substance."

All inmates "detoxing" from substances are closely monitored, he
said.

The decision for medical intervention, Morris said, belongs to the
jail medical staff.

"So that decision is not made by Columbia County Sheriff's Office
employees," Morris said, "but they are made by medical staff of both
nurses and physicians in concert."

Morris said the last death of an inmate was Feb. 26, 2009, when Roger
Allen Tyler, 46, of Hephzibah, died of natural causes while sleeping
in his cell.