We are demanding justice for the preventable death in custody of Kelsey Rayner, who suffered for days in the Appling County jail before dying of sepsis on the floor of his cell.

Graphic video of Kelsey’s death can be viewed here.

On July 17, 2017 Kelsey Rayner was arrested for theft of services and operating a business without a license - selling produce out of the back of his truck. Kelsey’s produce truck was a familiar sight around Appling County, and by all accounts the locals loved him and his produce. When he was booked into jail, Kelsey had a low grade fever. Blood work was ordered, but never done.

Kelsey’s condition only continued to worsen.  One week after his arrest, Kelsey appeared in court and pleaded with the judge for medical treatment. He said “I been using the bathroom, passing blood and all that, too. They supposed to took me to the hospital after that, but they didn’t. I really need my body checked out, Mr. Pres. Whatever you can do to help me get out I’d appreciate it.” The judge was merciful, and gave Kelsey a suspended sentence. He should have been immediately released from custody, but he was not.

Instead, Kelsey was returned to the jail where his condition continued to worsen over the next 2 days until his death. He repeatedly asked the guards for medical attention, but they only responded by disabling his intercom. On June 26, Kelsey fell to the floor, unable to get back up. He lay on the cold, hard floor of his cell, writhing in agony for 5 hours. Other inmates used their intercoms to ask for help for Kelsey, but were likewise ignored. Multiple guards entered Kelsey’s cell to check on him, but when they found him still breathing, they just covered their noses and left. Just after 10PM, Kelsey breathed his last breath, still on the floor of his cell.

EMS responders said Kelsey’s abdomen was so distended that it looked like he had a basketball stuffed in his shirt. Kelsey’s autopsy showed that he died of a perforated bowel and sepsis. He had an abscess the size of a peach in his abdomen. His death was slow, agonizing, and painful and could have been prevented if he had been treated in a hospital days or even hours before his death. A GBI investigation was initiated into Kelsey’s death, but Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson SHUT DOWN the investigation before the GBI were finished investigating.

We demand:

• A FULL investigation into Kelsey Rayner’s death.
• Accountability from the officers who ignored Kelsey’s pain, from Sheriff Mark Melton who has a constitutional duty to the inmates in his jail, and from DA Jackie Johnson who declined to hold anyone criminally responsible for his death.
• The firing of every Appling County corrections officer who checked on Kelsey and did not get him medical help.
• The immediate resignation of Appling County Sheriff Mark Melton
• The immediate resignation of Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson

Read more about Kelsey’s story here:

Part One​

Part Two