ST. LOUIS — The NAACP’s city branch on Tuesday called on Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore to investigate whether recent deaths of city jail inmates could be the result of criminal neglect — or even negligent homicide — by city employees and contractors.

Chapter President Adolphus Pruitt said local hospital staff told his group that inmates are arriving at emergency rooms without basic medical information or history, complicating treatment. He said hospitals are also unable to reliably communicate their findings, medication orders and monitoring instructions back to the jail’s medical staff when inmates return.

He said that if those problems contributed to any of the jail’s more than 20 in-custody deaths since 2020, those responsible should be charged.

“If it leads to a loss of life, it’s a homicide,” Pruitt said. “And if it’s a homicide, it should be prosecuted as such.”

The demand marks an escalation from previous attempts to hold the city accountable for the troubling string of deaths. Activists have held protests. Aldermen have held hearings and made inquiries. Family members of people who died in custody have filed civil lawsuits seeking damages.

But Pruitt said the threat of criminal punishment could be what finally forces changes.

“I think those individuals who have responsibility will take their responsibility more seriously,” he said.

Spokespersons for the circuit attorney and Mayor Cara Spencer, who oversees the city’s Corrections Division, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday morning.

The City Justice Center, across from City Hall on South Tucker Boulevard downtown, has been among the city’s most troubled institutions for years. Since 2020, it has been buffeted by riots, a hostage-taking and 22 in-custody deaths — a rate significantly higher than the national pre-pandemic average.

Officials have at times cast the deaths — generally attributed to medical issues, overdoses or suicides — as tragic but difficult to prevent.

But inmates and their families have repeatedly complained about the quality of medical care and their ability to get medication and timely treatment.

The family of Carlton Bernard, for instance, said the 32-year-old died of dehydration and diabetes complications after the jail failed to properly treat his schizophrenia.

In late 2023, the city hired a new health care provider and created new positions in the city health department to oversee care.

The next year, the city reported two in-custody deaths, down from six in 2022 and five in 2023.

But there were three more reported last year, including one case that drew attention when it was revealed that detainee Samuel Hayes Jr. died after being placed in a restraint chair.

His family and lawyers said surveillance video showed Hayes writhing in pain for nearly 30 minutes before he stopped moving and remained unattended for more than an hour.

Since then, two more inmates have died after what authorities described as medical emergencies.

Pruitt said the NAACP began examining those cases and released a report this week.

The report cites breakdowns in communication between jail staff and hospitals and raises concerns that hospital-prescribed medications are delayed or not administered when detainees return to jail. It also questions whether inmates returning from medical emergencies are being properly monitored for complications.

Those failures, the report argues, create gaps in care in which treatable conditions can deteriorate into crises and death. It calls on the city to take immediate action.

The group cited the report in a letter sent Monday to the Circuit Attorney’s Office.

Pruitt said the group had not yet received a response.

The NAACP is also seeking a broader federal civil rights review of conditions at the jail.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office that covers the St. Louis region could not immediately be reached for comment.

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