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DUCHESNE — A trial for a nurse accused of causing the death of a Duchesne County Jail inmate in 2016 ended with a jury reaching a deadlock Thursday and the judge calling a mistrial.
Jana Clyde, 54, was charged in 2017 with negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor, after Madison Jensen, a 21-year-old inmate, died after spending about five days at the jail where Clyde worked as the only nurse, according to testimony at the trial.
Eighth District Judge Don M. Torgerson asked the jurors if they thought there was any possibility they could reach a verdict after about 10 hours of deliberating and four in a deadlock, and they unanimously raised their hands saying it would be impossible.
Torgerson discharged the jury, thanking them for diligently performing their duty.
Testimony for the trial over a misdemeanor charge began on June 8 and lasted almost six full days, through Wednesday, when the case was handed to the jury. The mistrial was called about 24 hours afterward, on Thursday afternoon.
Assistant attorney general B. Namba claimed Clyde was negligent in not treating Jensen for dehydration. In his closing arguments, he claimed that Clyde deviated from what would be expected as a jail nurse and said she should have conducted dehydration tests and done more to help. He cited a witness whose analysis said the care provided was "woefully inadequate."
He said Clyde is an example of a jail nurse stereotype of someone who prioritizes suspicion over compassion.
"We can look at her attitude and the way that she has explained her actions," he said.
Namba said although there were others at the jail watching, it was Clyde's duty to observe inmates' health over a period of time and reach out to a doctor if needed.
Defense attorney Loni Deland said the event was a tragedy, and a guilty verdict would only make it more of a tragedy. Although multiple people testified that they had noticed Jensen was sick, not all of those reports made it to Clyde.
"It has to be reported. If she doesn't have the knowledge and information, she can't do anything about it," Deland said
He referred to the small amount of time that Clyde interacted with Jensen. He said vomiting is common in a jail since about 90% of inmates are experiencing drug withdrawals. He also said that Jensen was withdrawing from heroin use, which was less familiar for Clyde, as the drug had only recently been introduced in Duchesne in 2016.
He said giving him Gatorade, which Clyde did, is what jails typically do to address dehydration from drug withdrawal symptoms.
"My client was doing her job as she was expected to do it, the way she was trained to do it," Deland said.
The charges against Clyde were filed in September 2017, almost five years ago. She has retained her position as a nurse at the Duchesne County Jail.
Jensen's father, Jared Jensen, filed a federal civil lawsuit against Duchesne County, Jana Clyde and other individuals claiming that the death should not have happened. That lawsuit is still pending, although claims against some defendants have been dismissed.
