Wednesday, October 25, 2000
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Wednesday, October 25, 2000 |
| New DA appointed
to review jail death
By JOHN
MUNFORD
The review of a GBI investigation into the death of a Fayette County jail inmate will be handled by Chattahoochee District Attorney Gray Conger. Local District Attorney William McBroom said Monday that he recused himself from the case because he works closely with the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, which operates the jail. Conger was appointed by an order from the chief judge of the Griffin circuit, Ben J. Miller, McBroom said. The inmate, James E. Eppinger, died Aug. 27 although the GBI has not released the results of the autopsy citing a pending investigation. According to original reports, Eppinger was being moved from the regular jail population to another area when he became combative with jail personnel. He was injured during the confrontation and taken to Fayette Community Hospital, where he later died. Conger will determine whether the investigation revealed any evidence of wrongdoing which should be presented to a grand jury, McBroom added. Conger could not be reached for comment by press time. Fayette County Sheriff Randall Johnson asked the GBI to investigate the matter after notifying them of the altercation.
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