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Cobb Sheriff says he’s not alone as homeless, terminally ill man intentionally arrested over health care – WSB-TV Channel 2

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COBB COUNTY, Ga. – Every day, a steady stream of inmates flow into the Cobb County Infirmary for more than just checkups.

“Their local jails have turned into de facto hospitals and mental health facilities,” said Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens.

According to the sheriff’s office, a 68-year-old homeless man with terminal cancer chose to be arrested in order to seek medical care.

“He committed another crime in order to be brought back into the facility so he could receive treatment,” Owens said.

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The man died in a nearby hospital last month. The office did not release his name because next of kin have not been notified.

Sheriff Owens says this isn’t the first time a person has been arrested over health care.

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“They have no money, no job. Where else can I get free healthcare? “Where else can I be healed?” Owens said.

“Everything is also a compromise. “If you trade a little of your freedom to survive cancer,” said Dr. Edward Valentine of HOPE Atlanta.

Dr. Valentin is committed to meeting the medical needs of homeless people throughout Atlanta. Hope Atlanta is one of the few organizations dedicated to caring for people in need. The doctor says many homeless people are in survival mode and will take desperate measures for health care.

“It’s a huge expense, it’s a huge undertaking, but it’s the right thing to do,” Owens said.

Prisons are required by law to provide medical care to inmates. This is costing taxpayers across the metro tens of millions of dollars.

In Cobb County, every inmate receives a full physical within 14 days. The prison has full-time doctors and nurses. They have dentists who come in three times a week. Whatever the care, the county tries to provide the service and pay for it.

However, Owens believes that the state or government should find a way to provide health care to the less fortunate – you don’t have to commit a crime to do that.

“We are not designed to be a health facility, we are designed to be a detention facility,” Owens said.

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