Dozens of protesters shut down streets demanding justice for inmate who died in jail

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - Today marks a week since Alachua county sheriff’s deputies confirmed that 32-year-old Marcus Goodman died in jail due to a medical emergency. Family members were invited to a vigil to honor him but what was supposed to be a quiet event turned into an active protest.

Friends, friends, and strangers marched the streets to demand answers to the questions left unanswered.

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“I’m just using this as a momentum to save other people’s lives so they don’t wind up like another name on a board,” said April Johnson, Goodman’s sister. “Another person whose dead, another loved one whose missing, another child, another brother, another cousin. It doesn’t have to be that way.”

Goodman appeared in front of a judge on January 26th. He was declared fit to stand trial on burglary charges, and that trial would never happen. He was sent back to jail where he died that day.

“It’s been tough for all of us, I was joined by some of my cohorts who also saw him grow up,” said family friend Meredith Henry. ‘The real unhappiness of his passing and its circumstances, compelled us to be here tonight.”

Johnson said the family is still unsure what kind of medical emergency Marcus had. They said that little detail would bring them so much closure.

“I haven’t had any information about what happened and we were going to wait for the investigation,” said Johnson. “I just hope it is the last step. Right now, we are just trying to make enough money to raise his funeral cost.”

The family told tv20 they’ve reached out to multiple attorneys to file a lawsuit against the Alachua county sheriff’s office.

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