FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — An attorney representing the family of a man who was found dead inside his cell at the Fulton County Jail is questioning the timeline of events.
Montay Stinson was found dead around 11:45 p.m. on July 31, according to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office. The office announced Stinson's death on Aug. 2, adding that there were no obvious signs of injury to his body.
Stinson's family's attorney Kenneth Muhammad got ahold of the medical examiner's autopsy report which deemed the 40-year-old died of natural causes, mentioning minor blunt force trauma to his head.
Stinson was being held on a $3,000 bond for second-degree burglary. Muhammad said the family was working with a nonprofit to help him get back on his feet when he was set to be released but it never happened. The family said just days before they were going to help him get released, Stinson was found dead in his cell.
He was booked on October 5, 2022. Stinson had been locked up for 299 days.
Stinson is the tenth inmate to die while in the custody of the Fulton County Sheriff's Office this year. He's the ninth inmate to die at the Rice Street facility.
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On Tuesday, Muhammad said the Fulton County Medical Examiner ruled Stinson's death manner of death as natural. The underlying condition that was the cause of death was hypertensive heart disease. Muhammad noted the medical examiner also mentioned 'minor blunt force trauma' to Stinson's head but there does not seem to be an explanation for the injury.
11Alive reached out to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office for a comment regarding the autopsy but as of Tuesday night, there has been no response.
Muhammad said he also has some questions surrounding the medical examiner's report which mentions that a cellmate found Stinson's body. However, in investigative notes from the Fulton County Sheriff's Office there was no mention of a cellmate, Muhammad said.
He is also questioning the timeline of events leading up to Stinson's death.
Civil rights activist John Barnett said the family told him and Muhammad that Stinson had been complaining of severe stomach pains along with chest pains prior to being found in his cell. They believe he wasn't being treated properly by the staff in regard to his medical issues.
"They shouldn't be going to jail and coming home in a box," Barnett said.
He was just in Fulton County a couple of weeks ago to help the family of another inmate found dead in the jail.
"I thought when we came here two weeks ago to address another inmate who passed away - Samuel Lawrence may he rest in peace - I thought that was enough," Barnett said.
As the families of both Lawrence and Stinson are demanding answers from the sheriff's office, the Department of Justice continues its civil rights investigation into the jail and its conditions on the inside.
Barnett said while he hopes this trip will be his last, he doesn't think it will be.
"I'm almost certain that I'll be back to Fulton County, Georgia. I'm certain of that if things don't begin to change inside that jail," he said.
As for helping these families get answers Barnett said they just want to be acknowledged.
"We know you didn't do it, sheriff," Barnett said, "but it happened under your watch."