Dexter Barry
Dexter Barry was a car salesman who loved motorcycles and traveling, and his children remember his humor. He received a heart transplant in 2020 after waiting 12 years, and he needed anti-rejection medication every day. He was held at the Duval County Jail in Jacksonville for about two days in November 2022, and his family and their attorney say he repeatedly told officers and staff that he needed the medication and never received it. He was released and died on November 23, 2022, days after collapsing at home. A pathologist hired by the family attributed his death to cardiac arrest from acute heart rejection, while Armor Correctional Health Services, which provided jail healthcare, said the medication was ordered but he was released before it arrived and that he received timely care. The sheriff's office declined to comment, citing pending litigation, and the family has sued.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). A family-commissioned autopsy by Dr. Jose Suarez Hoyos attributed his death to cardiac arrest from acute heart rejection, and his family's lawyer says jail staff never gave him the anti-rejection medication he needed, while Armor Correctional Health Services says the medication was ordered but not delivered before his release and disputes that the missed doses caused his death.
Reported by: Dr. Jose Suarez Hoyos, private autopsy pathologist for the family (medical examiner or coroner); Dexter Barry's family and their lawyer, Andrew Bonderud (family or their lawyers); ACLU Florida (advocates); Armor Correctional Health Services (the agency that held him).
Lawsuit: His family sued over his death in federal court, and the reporting says they settled for $300,000.
News reports (11)
- ‘My heart will be rejected’: Jacksonville man dies after missing doses in jail
- Independent autopsy rules death of Georgia prisoner who was “eaten alive” by lice and bed bugs a homicide
- COJ signed $98 million contract with Duval jail healthcare provider previously convicted in Wisconsin inmate death
- Florida opens investigation into Duval County jail’s medical provider
- Heart transplant recipient dies after being denied meds in jail; ACLU wants an inquiry
- Duval jail’s medical provider says anti-rejection meds were ordered for inmate who later died
- I-TEAM: Records show history of problems with medications at Duval County jail years before inmate death
- Jacksonville’s jail death rate tripled after privatizing medical care
- Jacksonville sheriff explains change in jail's health care provider after inmate's death
- Jacksonville lawmakers call for DOJ investigation of Duval jail conditions
- Family of heart patient who died after Duval jail stay settles lawsuit