Two North Dakota jails refuse to offer COVID-19 shots to inmates
The sheriffs of Burleigh and Williams counties said their jails aren t offering vaccinations to those behind bars despite proposals from local public health agencies to provide shots. Meanwhile, jails in Fargo, Grand Forks, Jamestown, Minot and Dickinson have been offering and promoting the shot for months. 1:11 pm, May 26, 2021 ×
The Burleigh Morton County Detention Center in Bismarck is seen Monday, May 24, 2021. Michelle Griffith / The Forum
BISMARCK Inmates at two of North Dakota s biggest jails have no opportunity to get COVID-19 vaccinations after local law enforcement leaders opted not to make the jab available.
Dec 31, 2020
Ward County Sheriff Robert Roed issued a news release today that on Dec. 16 an inmate being held at the Ward County Detention Center on federal charges for the U.S. Marshal Service advised jail staff he was not feeling well. The inmate, Eugene Whiteowl, 62, was evaluated and taken to Trinity Hospital.
On Dec. 17 the U.S. Marshal Service furloughed Whiteowl from custody and he was released from custody of the Ward County Detention Center.
On Dec. 28 Ward County Detention Center officials were notified that Whiteowl had passed away due to COVID-19-related issues.
Both the U.S. Marshal Service and N.D. Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation have been notified.