FORT SMITH, Ark. — An inmate's death at the Sebastian County Adult Detention Center back in July has been ruled an accident.
Jacob W. Honeycutt, 36, of Fort Smith was booked into the Sebastian County Adult Detention Center on July 30, 2020, on charges of Aggravated Assault on a Family or Household Member. According to court documents surrounding an investigation into his death, he told his cellmate he had ingested methamphetamine earlier that day.
The next day, his cellmate was watching television when he noticed Honeycutt was having a seizure. He notified detention deputies and emergency. Nurses at the detention center and sheriff’s department personnel administered life-saving measures to Honeycutt and contacted emergency medical personnel to take Honeycutt to the local hospital.
Honeycutt was pronounced dead at Baptist Health Hospital in Fort Smith at 9:04 p.m. that same day (July 31). His autopsy concluded that the official cause of his death was Acute Myocardial Infarct Due to Thrombosis of Left Anterior Descending Coronary Artery Due to Hypertensive Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease with a Contributory Cause of Methamphetamine Use. Honeycutt suffered from coronary artery disease, but with the amount of meth in his blood, it could not be ruled a natural death.
The autopsy noted, "although the primary cause of death was related to natural disease processes, the contributory effects of methamphetamine add an unnatural element to the cause of death, and the manner cannot be classified as natural. Methamphetamine is a cardiac stimulant; its use causes the heart to work harder, which is extremely dangerous for someone with coronary artery disease. Assuming that his use of methamphetamine was voluntary and not intended to cause harm, the manner of death will be classified as accident."
According to Prosecuting Attorney Daniel Shue, Honeycutt never complained about his physical condition. Shue concluded after the investigation that no criminal charges can be filed against any person with regard to this death.
