LAKE WALES, Fla. (AP) - An inmate on suicide watch at a Florida jail has been found dead.
The Lakeland Ledger cites the Polk County Sheriff’s office as saying that 64-year-old James Rankins was found unresponsive in his cell at the South County Jail in Frostproof on Tuesday. Autopsy results showed no signs of injury or trauma. Toxicology results are pending.
Rankins was arrested by Haines City Police on May 3 on battery after conviction.
The newspaper says Rankin had attempted suicide 16 times and was on suicide watch. He was found 15 minutes after being visited by a mental health counselor. Deputies attempted to revive Rankins before he was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
The newspaper reports this is the second inmate death in Polk County in less than a month.
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Information from: The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.), http://www.theledger.com
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