Man died after catching COVID-19 in Durham jail. Why didn’t the county or state say so?
The death of a man who caught COVID-19 in the Durham County jail raises concerns about a reporting system that tied his death to a state prison he never reached, local leaders and a health expert say.
Darrell Wayne Kersey, 59, had been in jail for about eight months when he tested positive for COVID-19 in early August, according to his family.
Later that month, he was taken to Duke Regional Hospital and then Duke University Hospital, they said.
Two days before Kersey died, he was transferred from county to state custody, according to officials.
The Sheriff’s Office never publicly reported Kersey’s death. Nor was it tied to the jail in correctional facility reports issued by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Instead, it was reported under statistics for the state prison he was heading to but never entered, according to records and interviews.
“As Mr. Kersey had been transferred to State custody and we were no longer providing security at the hospital we were not notified of the death,” wrote David Bowser, spokesperson for the Durham County Sheriff’s Office, in an email.
Bowser didn’t answer a question about when Durham County officials learned of Kersey’s death, only saying they weren’t officially notified.
Other county leaders, however, say they should have known about Kersey’s death and want more information about the reporting system. A local heath expert said it’s important for jails to report cases that originate in their facilities.
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“Knowing that a severe case of COVID was due to exposure in the local jail aids in our understanding of how to intervene,” wrote Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein, an assistant professor of social medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill, in an email to The News & Observer.
“It’s how we know if there might be more cases in that facility and the urgency in which mitigation strategies should be deployed,” she wrote.
Concerns about treatment
Kersey, who had two children and three grandchildren, was a severe diabetic who required two insulin shots a day, said his wife, Teresa Kersey of High Point. Teresa Kersey said jail officials told her that her husband tested positive around Aug. 8 and was taken to the hospital later that month.
Kersey’s family, including his wife, daughter and brother, expressed concern about how Durham officials handled Kersey’s illness and whether they took him to the hospital soon enough.
Bowser wrote that “all detainees receive quality access to medical care” and that he couldn’t comment on specific detainees. He didn’t answer questions about when Kersey tested positive and when he was hospitalized.
Death listed under state prison
Kersey’s death was not acknowledged in COVID-19 announcements by the Sheriff’s Office or the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, which tracks outbreaks in jails, nursing homes and other congregate living facilities.
The death was counted as the first of two deaths at Central Prison, according to state records. The N.C. Department of Public Safety announced the death, without naming Kersey, in a press release that said a newly committed state prisoner had died after testing positive for COVID-19.
“The offender was hospitalized prior to being admitted to the state prison system and assigned to Central Prison on Sept. 15,” the release states. “The offender, who never physically entered a prison, died at the hospital on Sept. 16 at 3:30 p.m.”
John Bull, a spokesman for the department, said the release was issued to be as transparent as possible.
Conflicting reports
State and county officials provided conflicting accounts about who is responsible for the transfer.
The Sheriff’s Office didn’t take steps to have Kersey transferred from county to state custody when he was in the hospital; that’s just how the process unfolded, Bowser wrote in an email.
On July 14 Kersey pleaded guilty to stalking, two counts of domestic violence violations — all felonies — and communicating threats, a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to from nine to 20 months. With credit from time served in the jail, he was projected to be released Nov. 5, according to Department of Public Safety records.
Before his conviction, he had been held on $250,000 bail that was reduced to $150,000 in January.
After Kersey pleaded guilty he was in the legal custody of the Department of Public Safety, but the state didn’t have a bed for him, Bowser wrote.
Kersey was set to be transferred to a state facility Aug. 18 but was hospitalized at the time, Bowser wrote.
Bull said the state didn’t learn about the need to transfer Kersey until Aug. 17.
The transfer couldn’t be made at that time, regardless, Bull said, because of a state policy that doesn’t allow the transfer of inmates from facilities with ongoing outbreaks.
The Sept. 14 transfer was granted after the Durham jail requested it that day, Bull said.
The N&O asked the Sheriff’s Office whether there are other uncounted Durham inmates who tested positive for COVID-19 or died from related causes.
“When people are sentenced they are committed to the State Prison system. They remain in the facility until they are transferred per State regulations,” Bowser wrote. “We have no knowledge of their status when they leave our facility.
County leaders have questions
Wendy Jacobs, the chairwoman of the Durham County Board of Commissioners, said she sent an email to the county manager and health director asking whether they were aware of the death of the former Durham inmate.
“I think we just need to get more information about how the reporting is done,” she said.
Commissioner Ellen Reckhow said county officials should have known about the death and that proper attribution of the source where an inmate got COVID-19 is important, especially if there are related concerns.
“If there are allegations that care was not provided in a timely manner that would be of great concern,” Reckhow said.
Two outbreaks at Durham County jail
Kersey tested positive in one of two COVID-19 outbreaks at the jail.
In April, eight detention officers at the jail tested positive for the coronavirus, and one of them died, the Durham County Sheriff’s Office has stated.
On Aug. 10, the Sheriff’s Office announced eight inmates had tested positive after jail staff noticed COVID-19 symptoms in an inmate on Aug. 7. Twenty-one inmates eventually tested positive, along with five Sheriff’s Office staff and three others who worked in the jail.
After the August outbreak, Robert Singagliese, co-chair of Durham Congregations, Associations and Neighborhoods pressed county officials for more transparency about testing and cases at the jail, The N&O reported.
The Rev. Tim Conder, co-chair of Durham CAN’s strategy group that advocates for issues identified by the community, said Friday that Durham County officials not reporting the death underscores broader concern about transparency about testing.
“We have just struggled to understand why there hasn’t been transparency on what should be a matter of concern for all of our neighbors of Durham,” Conder said.
Reckhow said the county is moving to expand testing at the jail upon requests from Sheriff Clarence Birkhead.
Loved motorcycles and NASCAR
Kelli Kersey said her father was outgoing and loved golfing, riding motorcycles and NASCAR.
“He had a whole shrine to Dale Earnhardt,” she said.
Kersey’s family said they are still trying to understand what happened to the man who had been calling home one or more times a day until he got sick.
“I just can’t believe all this happened,” his daughter said. “It was so quick.”
This story was originally published October 19, 2020 at 5:50 AM.
