NACOGDOCHES COUNTY, TX — In a 4-to-1 vote, Nacogdoches County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to hire a part-time nurse practitioner at the county jail.

The action comes in the wake of the death of then-inmate Edwinta Deckard, who died in December 2011 of apparent dehydration after being sick for at least a day.

In that case, Elizabeth Ann Owens, 40, of Nacogdoches, and Danny Ray Russell, 35, of Douglass, are the two jailers charged with state jail felony criminally negligent homicide in relation to Deckard’s death.

With all commissioners present, Pct. 4 Commissioner Elton Milstead voted against hiring a nurse practitioner at the jail.

Read more from the Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel.