Symone Nicole Marshall Was Denied Medical Attention, Dies In Texas Jail

Symone Nicole Marshall, 22, died in a Texas jail cell May 10. Rolling Out reports that Marshall had been in police custody following an April 26 car accident where she was forced off the road by another driver experiencing road rage. Her vehicle flipped several times and Marshall was in need of medical attention.

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Image via Facebook.

When officers arrived at the scene of the accident, instead of taking Marshall to the hospital, she was arrested for driving without a license. Once in custody at the Walker County Jail in Huntsville, TX, she begged to be taken to a hospital because she was sick. She was repeatedly refused.

Marshall’s Sister Notes Police Denied Her Sister Medial Care

She was held in custody at the Walker County Jail in Huntsville, TX for two weeks without medical attention. Her cause of death is listed as a blood clot in her lungs. Her sister Honey Marshall told the New York Daily News:

 “When I talked to her from jail, she complained that her head was hurting and she kept blacking out. I called the jail several times and requested for them to take her to a real hospital and they wouldn’t do so. If they would have done this, her death could have been prevented and my sister would still be here.”

Death Keeps Coming To Black Women In America’s Holding Cells

Marshall should be alive today to raise her five-year-old daughter. She’d just relocated to Texas for a new job and was looking forward to purchasing her first home. Instead, her daughter will grow up without her mother.

Marshall’s family, and the families of other black women arrested and dying without police accountability, deserve justice for their loved ones. In February, Joyce Curnell died of dehydration in a Charleston, South Carolina cell. Curnell, 50, had a bad intestinal bug and spent the last 27-hours of her life in a jail cell in excruciating pain. She couldn’t even get a cup of water.

Like Marshall, Curnell had also pleaded for medical attention, and she too was ignored. Let’s not forget Natasha McKenna who was tortured to death at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center in Virginia in February of 2015.

Image via Facebook.
Image via Facebook.

Where Is The Outrage?

Marshall spent two weeks in a holding cell where she was denied medical attention. Walker County law officials refused to comment to the New York Daily News. There has been no local coverage of Marshall or the circumstances surrounding her death.

She essentially died for driving without a license and for having melanated skin.

The unnamed person who ran her off the road gets to continue with their life. No jail time and no death sentence. I will call the name of Symone Nicole Marshall and pray for a little girl who is missing her mommy.

Why is there no justice for these black women? How many more will die waiting on justice to prevail?

C. Imani Williams is a human rights and social justice activist. She writes to empower and give voice to those silenced through systematic oppression. Her work has appeared in Between the Lines, Michigan Citizen, Tucson Weekly, Harlem Times, Dope Magazine and various news and popular culture blogs. Follow the unapologetically black political culture critique @ https://twitter.com/Imaniwms and https://www.facebook.com/You-Have-The-Right-540358412796352/?fref=ts