Lacey Robinette Handjis (37) died in August 2023 while in the custody of the Adams County Sheriff’s Office in Mississippi. Lacey was being held overnight due to a mental health crisis that she was experiencing. She began to experience symptoms of a medical emergency that the family claim were ignored by jail employees. Lacey suffered for hours until a jailer finally entered her cell and found her dead.
You can read the affidavit for this case here.
Lacey Robinette was born on October 6, 1985 to Charles and Constance Robinette. She had two older brothers – Joey and Charlie.
Lacey’s family have said that she had many friends and enjoyed painting and fishing while she was growing up. Her personality was described as energetic and bubbly. Lacey was said to have a way of making everyone feel special.
After Lacey graduated from Trinity Episcopal Day School, and she went on to earn a nursing degree from Central Louisiana Technical Community College. She worked for a period of time at the Adams County Correctional Facility as a nurse. At the time of her death, Lacey was employed as a hospice care consultant.
In December 2017, Lacey married Russell Handjis. They had two sons, Jack and Tyler.
Quote from her obit:
From the moment they entered this world, Lacey’s world changed. Her love for them was hard and fierce, as a mother’s love should be. Lacey was a remarkable woman. She was a wife, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and proudest of all, mother. She was a blessing to all.
Lacey had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Her condition became especially symptomatic in August 2023.
In late August 2023, Lacey traveled with her children to her brother’s home. She was there for two nights and family have said that she showed signs of being manic and paranoid.
On August 24, 2023, Lacey took a drug test at a clinic and she tested negative for illicit substances.
A wellness check was called for Lacey on August 25. The following day, the decision was made to take Lacey into custody so that a mental hold order could be obtained. This was a Friday.
On Monday August 28, Lacey’s brother began the process of getting the mental hold order. He was transferred back and forth between different clerks in different counties. Eventually, the Adams County Chancery Clerk accepted the mental hold affidavit. Lacey was transported that day to the Adams County Jail.
Lacey was booked into the jail, had her mugshot taken and was given jail issued clothing at 2.27pm that day. She was placed in a holding cell at 3.05pm.
We are now going to get into a detailed timeline of the events that led to Lacey’s death.
At 3.20pm, Lacey told employees that she needed her medicine and that she was having withdrawals from not taking it.
At 3.43pm, Lacey removed some of her clothing and began washing in water from the toilet.
At 3.51pm, Lacey told employees that it had been three days since she last had her medication.
By 4.33pm, Lacey was again asking for medication. She told employees that she had been pepper sprayed three times the previous night, while she was in custody at the Grenada County Sheriff’s Office. She asked for medication again at 5.03pm.
At 8.42pm, Lacey yelled for help. She screamed that her chest was hurting and asked for someone to call 911. Officer Robinson can be seen talking to Lacey at 8.44pm. She again asked for medication and according to the affidavit, the officer responded that Lacey put herself in the situation and that she wouldn’t be in custody if she didn’t need to be.
At 9.42pm, Lacey told another employee, Corporal Kracek, that she was scared of dying. The Corporal told Lacey that she would not die that night. Lacey again asked for her medication.
At 10.14pm, Lacey began drinking water rapidly. She ingested a lot of water. Within one minute she vomited. She drank more water after that. The cycle of drinking water and vomiting continued after that. Law enforcement were watching Lacey on a monitor at this time and discussed getting her hygiene supplies.
At 10.18pm, Lacey took her shirt and pants off and by this point, she was fully nude. She was still drinking water and at 10.21pm, she yelled that she felt dizzy.
Officer Robinson approached the cell and told Lacey to get dressed. She told him that her heart was racing and repeated that she felt dizzy. She screamed that she needed to go to hospital because she felt so bad.
Lacey kept begging to go to the hospital. One quote from the affidavit states that she said “Officer, I need to go to the hospital. I am hot.”
Corporal Kracek, who was observing Lacey from the Control Room, said at 10.40pm, “She’ll be hurting for a while with the pepper spray.”
At or around 10.43pm, Lacey yelled, “Officer, call 911. I had an allergic reaction to
pepper spray.” At or around 10:44pm, she exclaimed, I am having an allergic reaction because I am thirsty and throwing up.” She also said, “I am thirsty and throwing up and sweating so bad.”
Employees told Lacey that she was having a panic attack. They also said she was purposely drinking so much water to make herself sick so that she could be taken to hospital.
Officer Robinson said, “Ain’t nothing wrong with her.” He also said to her “We aren’t going to take you anywhere tonight.” He gave Lacey MORE water. She was seen fanning herself because she was so hot. She even wet her hair in the sink to try to cool down.
At 10.53pm, Lacey began to vomit blood into the sink. “I am throwing up blood, officer! Officer, I’m throwing up
Blood!” The blood could be seen in the sink on CCTV. Lacey scooped up a handful of the bloody water and put it through the hole in the jail door to show staff. She then said “Officer Mike, I am throwing up blood! I’m throwing up blood! Officer Mike, I need to go to the ER! I am throwing up blood!” She also said ‘ I am dying in here.’ “Help me, Officer Mike. I’m throwing up blood, Officer Mike! Please help me. I am fixing to die in here!”
All of the staff allegedly ignored Lacey at this point. Lacey kept gulping water. She kept vomiting blood.
By this time, Lacey had begun breathing very heavily. At 11.28pm, Lacey said to Officer Robinson “I am sick. I am dying in here. My heart is racing. My mouth is numb. I am throwing up blood.” Officer Robinson told her, “I don’t know what to do.” In
response, Lacey said to him, “I need your help. Call 911.” he replied, “I can’t.”
The Officer went back to the control room where he announced ‘She says she is dying.’ He then sat back down in his chair.
“I am sick. My heart’s beating. I’m getting
really weak. My mouth is numb.”
Lacey kept begging for help. “Help me. I am going to die in here. Please,
help me.” Lacey sneezed and wiped her nose with her hand. She then noticed blood in her hand. She said “Oh God, more blood.’
At 11.35pm, Lacey checked her own pulse and began to pray The Lord’s Prayer. Officers were watching her behavior on the monitor.
Officer Robinson tells Officer Williams that Lacey was naked and stepping in water.
He said to Officer Williams, “there is something wrong with her,” but none of the employees offered assistance.
Lacey kept checking her pulse with shaking hands over the next few minutes. At 11.50pm, she yelled “My heart rate is stopping. Officer, I need help!” She began to pray again. She prayed for her two children.
At 12.29am, Lacey said more prayers for her children and said “God forgive them, they know not what they do.” A few minutes later she screamed “I’m fixing to die in here. I’m losing consciousness. Someone, call 911 immediately. I can’t breathe! I’m having a heart attack “I barely have a pulse. I guess y’all don’t
Care. “I barely have a Heartbeat. I’m dying! I can’t breathe.“Help me, I’m dying in here. I’m getting dark. “I’m losing consciousness. My heart rate is barely palatable.” “I can’t breathe.” Lacey kept praying during this time.
At 12.43am Lacey screamed, “Someone, call 911. I’m losing my bowels. I’m losing consciousness.” Not long after she said “I’m too weak. I’m losing feeling in my legs.”
By this time, Officer Robinson was asleep in the control room.
At 12.58am, Lacey screamed “I’m dying! Someone, call 911. My ears are ringing. Death is near. Someone, call 911!” She began smearing defecation onto her body.
At 1.05am Lacey begged “please call 911! I need an ambulance. I’m
fixing to throw up.” She kept praying “I’m fixing to die for my sins. Lord, please
forgive me for my sins. I am not perfect. Please forgive me for my sins and all that sin against me. Messiah, forgive me. I love you, Lord.”
By 1.14am, Lacey was incoherent. She began to march in place at the door to her cell.
From around 1.30am onwards, Lacey began to defecate loose stool onto the floor while standing there. She was also beginning to lose her balance.
Lacey lay down on a mat in the room and by 1.38am, she was breathing shallow breaths and appeared to be unconscious.
Just after 2am, Officer Robinson was watching the monitors and called Officer
Williams over to look, “Why is she laying there in the water? I think her head hit the
door.” Officer Robinson said, “she shit on the floor” and, “she has a serious problem.”
The officers went to observe Lacey but did not offer any help at this time. Officer Robinson said “she is wallowing in it; she has a serious problem; I never seen anyone
wallowing in their shit.” Officer Robinson told Officer Williams, “you can smell it out in the hall.”
By 3.27am, Lacey was barely breathing. Soon after, she began to breathe in a convulsive manner. Over the next hour, Lacey remained laying on her belly, face down on the floor and she made grunting noises.
Officer Robinson had fallen asleep and woke at 5am.
At 6.49am, a jail staff member attempted to open Lacey’s cell door. When they were finally able to access the cell (it sounds like Lacey’s body may have been blocking the entry?), Lacey was discovered to have passed away.
Lacey was taken for autopsy and toxicology. On September 7, 2023 her tox report came back negative for any illicit substances.
The Mississippi Crime Lab autopsy report listed Lacey’s cause of death as undetermined. But, her labs show a hyponatremic dehydration pattern, which would be consistent with the symptoms she was experiencing in the cell prior to her death.
An independent autopsy report prepared on March 20, 2024, found the cause of death to be hyponatremia dehydration (low sodium).
The officers were interviewed and asked if Lacey appeared to have a medical emergency going on. Officer Collins said “She was just like a mental patient. Would scream. Took off clothes. Throwing water in the cell.” He also said “we get mental
patients all the time, and you just don’t know what you gonna get with these people.” “I thought she was tiring herself out and went to bed. She was a mental
patient. They’ll sleep how they want to sleep. They don’t know no better. She had been up all night and was tiring herself. Like, she was fine.” “Between 2:00 and 4:00 o’clock, I think maybe she had
just burnt out and wanted to rest. She kind of went down.” Officer Collins went “You know how a person be hyper all day long and just burn herself out? I assumed she got tired because she was a ticking time bomb.” “Being a mental patient, you never know how they will go to sleep. Some go to sleep naked. Some go to sleep with pants on or shirt on. I just thought, she is a mental patient, she might be asleep.”
Officer Collins was asked the following question: “So, when she was
laying on the floor and all that, you didn’t have any reason to be concerned, or you weren’t concerned. You just thought she had burned herself out, to used your words?” Officer Collins answered, “I thought she had everything she needed outside of medicine. She had water. She
had clothes. She had soap for her to wash up. She was like Shawn Keith or Michael
Washington. One of those inmates. And, you never know what you are gonna get with them.”
Lacey’s family have filed a federal civil rights suit alleging Adams County jail staff ignored her repeated pleas for help prior to her death. The lawsuit seeks undisclosed damages and claims the defendants deprived Lacey of her civil rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Fourteen years ago, Mississippi legislators passed a law requiring county jails to be certified by the state if they held people awaiting court-ordered psychiatric treatment.
Today, just one jail in the state is certified.
And yet, from July 2022 to June 2023, more than 800 people awaiting treatment were jailed throughout the state, almost all in uncertified facilities, according to state data.
SOURCE LIST
https://www.lairdfh.com/obituary/lacey-robinette-handjis