Changes coming to Flagler jail after inmate's death

Sheriff says he accepts responsibility for young man's death

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – Erika Williams held back tears showing pictures of her first born, 23-year-old Anthony Fennick.

Williams said her son had a drug addiction problem but was getting help and returned to jail on Dec. 28 for violating probation. His health deteriorated a month later when she said he received medication for a cyst.

"For those five days, twice a day, I heard every symptom, every ache, every pain that he had on the phone," Williams said.

Williams said she called the jail multiple times but her concerns fell on deaf ears. She said they couldn't release patient information and would not respond to her requests to check in on her son.

She said her son's request to seek medical attention were also ignored. Fennick was finally rushed to the hospital but died on Feb. 9 after being taken off of life support.

"You (sheriff) are responsible and Armor Healthcare are responsible for the death of a human being, which is my son," she said.

Sheriff Rick Staly held a news conference on Friday to outline the immediate changes that will be made to the Flagler County Inmate Facility.

"As sheriff, I accept full responsibility," Staly said.

The sheriff said he's terminating the contract with Armor Correctional Health Services, which is the medical service provider.

 "I'm not satisfied in how Armor acted and how they have responded to this tragedy," he said.

Staly also said jail supervisors will immediately be notified of inmate medical concerns. Medical release forms will be available for inmates and online for the families. There will also be a new hotline for inmate medical concerns that families can call and report immediately to the jail.

"I lost 11 hours by his side because nobody called me," Williams said. "By making some changes, that's fine. Hopefully, that will help somebody else because I don't want anybody, no family to go through what we're going through." 

A spokesperson for Armor Correctional Health Services told News 6 the sheriff never once reached out that he was concerned with their services.

"We're in the business of making sure we provide good quality patient care," a company official said.

The case is still under investigation. 
 


About the Author:

Loren Korn is a native Texan who joined the News 6 team as a reporter in May 2014. She was born and raised in Houston and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Journalism.

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