[Pnews] Man with schizophrenia was left naked in jail cell for weeks before death, video shows

Thu Apr 13 10:33:46 EDT 2023

theguardian.com
<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/12/indiana-jail-schizophrenia-solitary-cell-joshua-mclemore-video>
Man with schizophrenia was left naked in jail cell for weeks before death,
video shows
Sam Levin - April 12, 2023
------------------------------

[image: image.png]

New surveillance video from inside an Indiana
<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/indiana> jail shows how a 29-year-old
man who died in the summer of 2021 from dehydration and malnutrition was
left naked in solitary confinement for three weeks with no medical
attention.

The footage was released on Wednesday by the family of Joshua McLemore as
part of a federal civil rights lawsuit against Jackson county, Indiana. The
suit accuses the local sheriff, jail commander and medical staff of causing
McLemore’s death through deliberate indifference, neglect and
unconstitutional jail conditions while he was in a state of psychosis.

Disturbing videos, some of which were reviewed by the Guardian, show
McLemore as he was left in a small, windowless cell for 20 days straight in
Jackson county jail in July and August of 2021. The cell had no bed or
bathroom and had fluorescent lights on at all hours.

In the footage, McLemore, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, appears
detached from reality, speaking gibberish, rolling in filth and his own
waste and becoming clearly emaciated. He received daily meals through a
small slot in his jail door, but appears to have rarely eaten them. He had
extended human interactions on only four occasions – when guards used
intense force and restraint devices to drag him out to clean the cell or
give him a shower.
Newly released footage shows treatment of Joshua McLemore in solitary
confinement – video

McLemore ultimately lost 45lbs during his stay, but never saw a doctor or
mental health professional, the suit says.

The videos renew scrutiny of the Jackson county sheriff’s department, which
faced outrage over the 2021 jail death of Ta’Neasha Chappell
<https://www.wave3.com/2022/01/17/new-jail-recordings-confirm-taneasha-chappell-told-officers-she-was-vomiting-blood-hours-before-her-death/>.
Footage showed guards ignoring Chappell’s cries
<https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/crime/2022/01/21/taneasha-chappell-louisville-woman-begged-for-help-before-jail-death/6579985001/>
for medical attention for hours on end, including reports she was vomiting
blood. Chappell died shortly after she was taken to the hospital.
Prosecutors declined to file charges
<https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/indiana/2021/12/18/taneasha-chappell-death-update-indiana-prosecutor-declines-charges/8946040002/>
in her death.

McLemore, who grew up in Mississippi, long struggled with mental illness
and drug use and had repeatedly received in-patient psychiatric treatment,
the suit filed by his family says. He was living in Seymour, Indiana, on 20
July 2021 when his mother, concerned he wasn’t responding to her calls, had
his apartment manager check on him. McLemore was found naked on his floor
and incoherent, leading building staff to call an ambulance.
[image: A picture of a man and woman sitting on either side of a Santa
Claus statue.]
Joshua McLemore with his late mother, Rhonda McLemore. Photograph: Courtesy
of Joshua McLemore’s family

At the hospital, McLemore was disoriented and in a state of psychosis, and
acknowledged he’d used meth, according to the complaint. When a nurse found
him on the floor and tapped him, he pulled her hair, leading a guard to
order him to his bed. He complied without incident. The guard called
Seymour police, which sent four officers to arrest McLemore, placing him in
shackles and carrying him out of the hospital in his underwear.

At the jail, staff skipped the booking process, conducted no medical
evaluation and placed him directly in “Padded Cell 7,” which was empty with
nothing to sit on and no way to know whether it was day or night, the
McLemore family’s lawyers say. Officers struggled to put him in a smock and
gave up trying to clothe him. Eventually they removed his underwear,
leaving him with only a thin blanket and the smock on the floor nearby,
according to the complaint. McLemore appeared severely disoriented, asking
himself, “Where am I?,” video shows.

McLemore’s cell was connected to a bathroom, but jailers kept it locked and
it was unclear if McLemore was aware it was there as he relieved himself in
the cell. Footage shows him smearing feces, eating styrofoam, spilling
food, staring into cameras, licking walls and spontaneously laughing.

On 25 July, five days after his arrest, officers opened McLemore’s cell for
the first time, the footage shows. As he stepped out naked, three officers
tackled him to the ground and forced him into a restraining device with a
tight harness that bound his legs and feet together and locked his hands
behind his back even as he displayed little resistance. He was trapped in
the restraint for more than four hours, the suit says. Later that day,
staff gave him a mat, the first time he was given anything to lie on,
according to the footage.

The videos show guards opened the cell again on 27 July, seven days into
his detention. They pinned McLemore to the ground before strapping him
naked to a restraint chair to wheel him out for his first shower, spraying
him with water as he sat helplessly. The video shows two defendants in the
case – Rick Meyer, the elected sheriff of Jackson county, and Chris
Everhart, the jail commander – standing by.

Guards repeated this shower process on 31 July, and then left him alone
again until 8 August, the suit says. That morning, McLemore didn’t touch
his breakfast, which a guard later replaced with lunch, which also went
untouched. At 4pm, a guard gave him Gatorade, which he was too weak to
drink without the assistance of a nurse. Although he was barely moving, the
staff did not bring in a doctor or call an ambulance; instead 40 minutes
later, they wheeled his emaciated body out for another shower.

It wasn’t until 6pm that evening that EMTs arrived and took him to a
hospital where he was found to suffer from severe dehydration, insufficient
oxygen in his body tissues, kidney failure, impaired brain function and
other catastrophic health problems, according to the suit. He was airlifted
to an Ohio hospital, where he became comatose, before he was declared dead
on 10 August. A coroner cited “multiple organ failure due to refusal to eat
or drink with altered mental status due to untreated schizophrenia”.
[image: McLemore grew up in Mississippi and had repeatedly received
in-patient psychiatric treatment, the suit filed by his family says.]
McLemore grew up in Mississippi and had repeatedly received in-patient
psychiatric treatment, the suit filed by his family says. Photograph:
Courtesy of Joshua McLemore’s family

McLemore was charged with battery, but never arraigned nor did he see a
judge. As he was being hospitalized, Sheriff Meyer released him from
custody, records show. A prosecutor said last year McLemore “most likely
died due to a prolonged lack of attention”, but declined to file criminal
charges
<https://www.wbiw.com/2022/06/30/joshua-mclemore-likely-died-due-to-a-prolonged-lack-of-attention-by-jail-staff-no-one-will-be-charged-in-connection-with-his-death/>
against any officers.

State law requires people in solitary be allowed out of their cell at least
one hour a day, barring safety concerns and records show that McLemore was
also supposed to be observed every 15 minutes. State documents show
inspectors also repeatedly deemed the facility non-compliant with a law
mandating jails arrange for 24-hour emergency psychological care.

Hank Balson, the family’s lawyer, said McLemore’s mother died unexpectedly
in December, and that the family wanted the videos publicized. “There was
just a callous indifference to his humanity and dignity … Some of the
conditions Josh was subjected to – constant isolation, his cell being
illuminated 24 hours a day, sleep deprivation – those are things we
associate with torture.”

McLemore’s death shines a harsh light on the crisis of medical neglect and
mental illness behind bars
<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/15/prison-healthcare-washington-diabetes-death-clifford-farrar>
in America, where more than 400,000 people
<https://www.prisonpolicy.org/research/pretrial_detention/> sit in jails
pre-trial without being convicted.

Lita Ladner, McLemore’s aunt, called the jail’s treatment “cruel and
senseless” in a statement. “Hopefully this lawsuit will force Jackson
county and other counties to treat the people in their jails with humanity
– especially people suffering from mental illness. We want to send a
message that jails cannot treat people like this. We want to make sure
other families don’t have to go through the kind of pain our family has
been forced to endure from this senseless neglect.”

Sheriff’s department officials and jail representatives did not immediately
respond to inquiries on Wednesday.
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