<p>The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has determined the August death of a 67-year-old Ware County jail inmate who had been restrained in a chair for two days a homicide.</p><p>Special Agent John J. Heinen said an autopsy conducted at the GBIs Moultrie crime lab showed that Rufus Robert Rhodes died from the delayed effects of stress-induced cardiorespiratory arrest while strapped in a restraint chair.</p><p>Heinen said the crime lab ruling does not mean a crime was committed. A homicide occurs when the actions or inactions of one person result in the death of another, he said.</p><p>The findings have been forwarded to District Attorney Rick Currie, who will determine if any criminal charges will be filed.</p><p>Rhodes was sentenced Aug. 6 to a five-year prison term after pleading guilty to nine counts of forging drug prescriptions. He was charged with using the bogus prescriptions to obtain or attempt to obtain prescription painkillers, according to court records.</p><p>Ware County jail personnel found Rhodes unresponsive in a restraint chair in a one-bed cell about 8 p.m. Aug. 22. He died four days later at Satilla Regional Medical Center.</p><p>Rhodes had been placed in the chair about 7 p.m. Aug. 20 after he attacked a Ware County jail official, Heinen said.</p><p>Heinen said jail policy states inmates must be released from the chair every two hours to walk around or use the restroom.</p><p>Sheriff Ronnie McQuaig said he has stopped using the chair but not because he felt his staff did anything wrong.</p><p>I did away with it. Weve been using it for years, McQuaig said.</p><p>Rhodes daughter, Julie Latham, a Tampa nurse, said she believes her father died because he was restrained far too long .</p><p>I dont think that being in a restraint chair for two days is appropriate, Latham said.</p><p>Latham said other inmates have called her and said her father was confused, disoriented and in considerable pain in the days leading up to his death.</p><p>McQuaig said Rhodes was placed in the chair to protect himself and the detention staff.</p><p>I didnt want him to hurt himself, McQuaig said.</p><p>McQuaig said a padded cell would have been an option for Rhodes, but one was not available.</p>
