Jerid Thistle’s story
Jerid Thistle died by suicide in jail after the judge denied the prosecutor’s request to release him on a PR bond.
Jerid struggled with mental health, which led to his arrest for theft under $500 and illegal weapon possession in 2021. The prosecutor and public defender agreed Jerid was safe for release on a non-monetary bond, but the judge refused. Jerid could not pay the $5,000 bond. After detoxing alone in the Alamosa Jail for three days, he died by suicide.
“Jerid came home in a plastic container as ashes. All those hopes and dreams we had together were never to be.”
— June Fraser Thistle | Jerid’s Stepmom
Who Jerid Was
Our son, Jerid Jason Thistle was an addict. The entire time he lived in Colorado he was an addict. His drugs of choice were methamphetamines and heroin, the most insidious of all drugs and the most difficult to kick.
Years of bad drug use led to mental health issues, the worst of which for Jerid was paranoia. He felt there were people out to get him . So he carried a firearm, often the firearm was broken or without bullets. No amount of discussion could convince Jerid of this simple fact: he would never be able to leave Colorado unless he gave up that firearm. But his paranoia convinced him that he needed it for protection.
Jerid’s problem was circular: addiction led to mental health issues which led to prison over and over and over again. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. For 21 years he lived in this cycle, much of it in a Colorado prison system.
We had a plan to remove him from Colorado. His parole had ended and it was time. He was so close to making it home. Alive. It was his dream to return to Washington State and open a home mechanic shop on our property. He was a terrific mechanic, just ask anyone who works at the Alamosa Sheriff’s office They all had their vehicles fixed by Jerid.
We offered Jerid this dream to come home on the condition that he undergo and complete drug treatment But suicide happened instead. Within a cell in your own prison system That system failed to provide addiction treatment and mental health counseling. And with that failure Jerid’s life and our dreams ended. Inside the Alamos County Jail.
Jerid’s last moments
Why was he in that cell? Jerid faced a pending charge of theft under $500 and carrying an illegal weapon. He also had a bond $5,000 posted. But he knew we were long past bailing him out. So his only option was pretrial incarceration. Jerid did not have $5 let alone $5000 so it was a deserved consequence.
But he also deserved support for his medical and mental illnesses. He did not deserve to die, alone, in a jail cell.
Jerid’s suicide was a shock. He was a spokesperson for years and help to those who were undergoing suicide ideation. This action was out of character. So why did he get to this place? The answer is clear. He was lost in the hopelessness of pending prison…. the harsh reality of detox…..and a heart condition that required medication he did not have in that jail cell. The tragic, circular pattern of his life was too much. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
The Alamosa District Attorney asked the judge to grant Jerid a PR Bond but it was denied. We will never know if that bond would have made the difference between life and death.
“I remain devastated by this loss. Detoxing in a cell, pending trial, with no intervention, is not the right response to addiction and mental health.
We need a better system, where jail cells are reserved for people who pose a real safety risk and where people like my son are not driven to desperation because they can’t pay for their freedom.
I to ask you to support SB21-62 because had this bill been law, it could have saved my son’s life. “
June Fraser Thistle, Jerid’s Stepmom
SB21-062 is a jail depopulation bill that limits low level arrests and cash bond for people like Jerid.
Contact your Colorado legislators in support of SB21-062 today.