The Times 'Investigation'

After receiving a copy of the Justice Department�s probe of King County Jail, I wondered how long it would be before the Seattle Times took credit for it. One day, it turns out. In Thursday�s Times story on the federal investigation that found medical and custody treatment were so poor in the downtown jail that inmates� civil rights were being violated, there was this paragraph:

The Justice Department opened its investigation last spring, not long after the county ombudsman raised concerns about Jail Health Services and its two pharmacies, which had failed several state inspections. A Seattle Times investigation also revealed hundreds of medical errors, including the overdose death of one inmate and the death of another from an untreated infection by flesh-eating bacteria.

Let�s see. The "overdose death of one inmate" the paper revealed would be that of Damon Henderson, who in 2003 was given methadone he wasn�t supposed to be taking. The Times reported the death in March this year.

Seattle Weekly reported his death, along with a number of others that hadn't been revealed, in September 2005. In our report, we credited the paper that originally carried the Henderson story, the Seattle P-I, in 2004, after a lawsuit was filed.

The "death of another inmate from an untreated infection by flesh-eating bacteria" the Times revealed would be that of Patrick Harrington�s. The Times reported his death in March this year. SW first revealed it in detail in November 2005, and in two follow-up stories.

That March investigation by the Times also included the revelation that a hapless robber named Ronald Hicks committed suicide in jail by overdosing on jail-issued antidepressants he�d stored up. SW revealed the death in August 2005, and again in more detail the next month.

The Times� March story also revealed contagious staph infections that plagued the jails. That MRSA outbreak was reported by KING-5 News in November 2005. SW reported on that outbreak and new details about flesh eating disease in December 2005, crediting KING�s report as well.

The Justice Department also credits KING, and SW, citing their news stories in the newly released investigative report. The Times isn�t mentioned.

But then, the Times is mentioned in the Times� report. So it�s clear they deserve the credit.

BTW, SW plans to follow up on jail conditions. You can look for our report in the Times.