At the age of 32, Phillip Ross Board, of Dunbar, died in his cell at South Central Regional Jail on April 5.
Board's family believes he died of symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. They also believe that because a large number of inmates in the state suffer from drug or alcohol addiction, the jails should be better equipped to treat those experiencing symptoms, according to a Charleston lawyer representing his family, Jesse Forbes.
According to a 2010 report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, of the 2.3 million inmates in the nation's prisons and jails at the time, 1.5 million met criteria for substance abuse or addiction.
"If you're locked in a cage and denied that type of access to treatment that you need, horrible things can happen, like this death," Forbes said. "It'd be no different than if you need food to survive and they decided not to feed you."
Board enjoyed the guitar, his computer and West Virginia University basketball.
He left behind a great-grandmother who depended on him, Forbes said. Board lived with his great-grandmother and served as her caretaker. He also left behind a 9-year-old son.
"He loved his son, and his son loved him," Forbes said. "The real tragedy is that no 9-year-old kid deserves to lose their father in a situation where there are ways to prevent it."
Board had struggled with alcoholism for years, Forbes said.
He was charged with child neglect creating risk of injury about a week after police saw him allegedly staggering as he walked down the street with his son in Dunbar. His blood alcohol content was .462, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.
He was jailed on April 4.
The next day, he died. Lawrence Messina, spokesman for the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, would only say Board had a "medical episode" in his cell, that staff provided "assistance" until Board was taken to the hospital and that they were later told Board died at the hospital.
The family wants to know whether he was assessed for alcohol problems, and whether he received treatment for it.
The National Commission on Correctional Health Care, a nonprofit that advocates for improvement of health care in jails, recommends that all correctional facilities have a system in place for the screening, diagnosis and treatment of alcohol or opioid withdrawal, a common problem in correctional facilities.
The organization recommends that all inmates be screened for substance abuse disorders and withdrawal, that all staff be trained on withdrawal symptoms and that medication be available for those suffering.
Messina would not answer questions about whether Board's death could have been prevented, whether Board was evaluated for medical problems upon his arrival, whether he was determined to be under the influence of alcohol when booked into the jail, whether he was given any treatment for alcohol withdrawal, what measures the jails have in place to protect people suffering from drug or alcohol withdrawal and whether there are any plans in place to improve response to inmates suffering from drug or alcohol addiction.
"I have no additional information to share about this matter at this time," he said in an email.
He declined a request for a phone interview with David Farmer, executive director of the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority.
"As explained previously, we have no new information to share at this time," he said in an emailed response to a phone call. "The investigations remain ongoing."
No lawsuit has been filed in the case.
Board's family members directed questions to lawyers. Forbes said the family would not answer additional questions.
Reach Erin Beck at
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