Questions surrounding the death of a 56-year-old woman, days after she was moved from the Henderson County Jail to East Texas Medical Center Athens, have prompted District Attorney Donna Bennett to call for an investigation.
The case concerning Debra Lee Newton’s death has been turned over to Texas Ranger Trace McDonald. At the heart of the probe is whether the Athens woman died while in custody of the sheriff’s department, or after she was released on a personal recognizance bond. The bond, issued by 3rd District Judge Mark Calhoon, was filed May 23 without Newton’s signature, causing some to doubt its authenticity.
“We welcome the investigation,” HCSD Lt. Pat McWilliams said. “It’s going to take a certain time frame ... but we’re certain there’s no conspiracy and that the patient received adequate medical treatment.”
Newton was reportedly admitted to the hospital April 25 after suffering from severe nausea and abdominal pains. She died on May 3.
About three weeks later, a Henderson County grand jury returned an indictment against Newton in the drug case for which she was incarcerated.
“We never got word from anyone that she had passed away,” Assistant District Attorney Bridgett Bateman said. “She was true billed by a grand jury on May 22.”
The drug charge is a state jail case, Bateman said. “It was enhanced because of her prior criminal history to a third degree felony,” she added.
When the DA’s office became aware that Newton had died, a motion was made to dismiss the case. Calhoon signed the order to dismiss on June 20, Bateman said.
Newton’s attorney, Scott Williams, said he had represented her occasionally in criminal cases over several years. When she was arrested Feb. 18, her bond was set at $5,000. She could not raise it, Williams said.
“It might as well have been a million,” Williams said.
On Feb. 25, Williams filed a motion for bond reduction, which Calhoon denied. When his client was still in jail two months later, Williams prepared a second motion. No hearing date had been set on that motion when Williams received a call from a fellow jail inmate telling him that Newton had died.
Williams said he is puzzled that a PR bond would have been filed without the defendant’s signature.
“If you don’t sign a personal bond, its an ineffectual bond,” Williams said.
Henderson County Attorney James Owen said he is aware a Dallas television station has filed a freedom of information request seeking Newton’s medical records.
Owen said he believes the request exists, but added he has not seen it. He said his staff may already be preparing the paperwork to send the request to the Attorney General’s Office for an opinion on whether to release the records. Private medical records are typically protected from publication.
McWilliams said the sheriff’s department welcomes the release of the requested records but doubts that would happen due to medical privacy laws.
“We’re ready to put the matter to rest,” McWilliams said.
The investigation comes days after Sheriff Ronny Brownlow announced he would leave office July 31, five months before his second term was scheduled to end. In a letter to County Judge David Holstein, Brownlow cited his age and eligibility for retirement benefits as his reasons for leaving office. The sheriff is out of town and could not be reached for comment Thursday.
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