(WVDN) — Timothy Considine died in Southern Regional Jail, despite his attorney’s warnings of his fragile health and efforts to get him increased medical care.
Considine’s defense attorney, Michael Whitt, informed The West Virginia Daily News of Considine’s death on February 9.
“My prediction that Timothy Considine will die in the custody of the Regional Jail system came true,” said Whitt. “He died either yesterday or early this morning at a local hospital after being taken there from the Southern Regional Jail.”
West Virginia director of communications and public relations Lawrence Messina, the media contact for the Southern Regional Jail, confirmed Considine passed away in an email to The West Virginia Daily News.
“He died February 8 while hospitalized,” wrote Messina on February 10. “Cause is pending further information, including the death certificate. There is no evidence of foul play.”
Considine’s health was a concern in the case before sentencing was imposed. Whitt first attempted to have Considine be granted an alternative sentence, such as home incarceration, saying that given “his age and his health situation, [Southern Regional Jail] would amount to a death sentence.” Considine was 69 years old when he was indicted in 2018 in the Greenbrier County Circuit Court. Whitt’s plea for alternative sentencing was unsuccessful, and Considine was sentenced to one-to-five years for failing to render aid after an accident causing death.
Whitt then attempted to have Considine transferred out of the Southern Regional Jail to a medical facility under the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. A hearing was held in mid-December 2021, where Whitt highlighted that “Mr. Considine is 74 years old and is very medically fragile. I visited with him yesterday in the run up to this hearing – he was visibly short of breath. … He struggled to hear what I was saying to him. [He] disclosed to me that he has gone days at a time since the sentence was imposed without eating because he’s not been provided food at the jail.”
In speaking with The West Virginia Daily News after the December hearing, Whitt also stated Considine told him that “there are some days he gets medication and some days he doesn’t.”
The attempt to transfer was denied. Previously, Messina responded to Whitt’s description of Considine treatment at the jail, saying “I have checked with leadership at the facility and DCR. There have been no reported outages or issues with heat, running water, meals (three are served each day) or medical services (including the providing of prescription medication) since this individual was admitted. The remaining allegations by this lawyer appear to involve speculation or matters not directly related to the case at hand. It is important to underscore, however, that current policy ensures the availability of medical services at this and all DCR facilities through its contracted providers.”
Southern Regional Jail staff were unable to comment on Considine’s death, and an email to Messina regarding the matter went unanswered as of press time.
“It is just a tragic situation,” Whitt said. “I did all I could for him. I truly did. It is the fault of the Division of Corrections for not acting timely and transferring him and the medical system at the jail which is completely subpar.”
According to reporting from Jessica Farrish with the Beckley Register Herald, two men, John Lewis Jarrel and Kyle ‘Steven’ Robinson, died after being found “unresponsive” in Southern Regional Jail shortly after medical procedures. In addition, civil suits were filed after the deaths of two other inmates in recent years. A case in Raleigh County against PrimeCare Medical of West Virginia, Southern Regional Jail’s medical contractor, for the death of Christopher Reynolds is ongoing. A Kanawha County case against PrimeCare Medical of West Virginia and other defendants, brought by the estate of Richard Riffe, ended when $570,000 was awarded to the estate in a wrongful death settlement.
For more on Considine’s case and the previous hearing, see “Alleged Conditions At SRJ Lead Considine Defense To Request Transfer” published on December 17, 2021, at wvdn.com.
