Share and Follow
Who’s Responsible for Jail Inmate Overdose Death?
A McDermott man will go on trial next week for his part in the death of an inmate at the Scioto County Jail. The trial will be held in Athens County, where 43-year-old Perry Steele faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound in relation to the death of his cellmate, Cory Willian Cantrell.
Portsmouth Police arrested Steel back in June of 2022. Officers put him through a scanner to check for contraband and then placed him in a holding cell. However, that scan missed the fentanyl Steele had on his person. Steele had previously been arrested 37 times, including 5 previous times in 2022 alone. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections released him on parole for Assault and Burglary charges back in September of 2021. According to jail records, he was arrested 4 times for parole violations.
When Steele was let out on bail, he left the drugs behind. His three cellmates later overdosed on the dangerous drug. When corrections officers found 23-year-old Cory William Cantrell unresponsive in his cell, they immediately provided emergency medical treatment and sent for an ambulance.
First responders transported Cantrell to Southern Ohio Medical Center, but he was pronounced dead. His body was sent for autopsy in Montgomery County.
Read Related Also: Florida man wins $1 million from $20 scratch-off ticket
Investigators were able to determine what happened by interviewing other inmates, watching camera footage, and interviewing the jail staff.
Cantrell’s family is suing Scioto County. They claim the jail failed to address the ongoing problem of drug smuggling in the facility, failed to properly search, Steele, and failed to Narcan Cantrell in time.
Cantrell had previously overdosed in the jail and had been revived. Guards had responded by moving him to a cell closer to the intake area in order to watch him.
Andrew Yosowitz , the attorney representing Scioto County, said, “The safety of inmates and staff is the top priority at the Scioto County Jail. To keep drugs and other contraband out of the jail, certified corrections officers (1) use a body scanner, (2) search and frisk inmates, (3) conduct cell searches and (4) refer individuals who attempt to convey unauthorized substances or items into the jail for criminal prosecution.”
He went on to say that it is impossible to detect every bit of contraband that inmates might smuggle into a facility and that Steele was ultimately the person responsible for bringing in the drugs that Cantrell took voluntarily.
