JACKSON CO. – Jackson County has settled a $7.25 million federal lawsuit resulting from the August 2021 death of a man who had been held in isolation at the Jackson County Jail for three weeks.
Joshua McLemore, who had a history of schizophrenia and substance abuse, died at Mercy West Hospital in Cincinnati on August 10, two days after he was initially taken to Schneck Medical Center, and then transferred to the Cincinnati hospital.
Jackson County has paid the $7.25 million to McLemore’s estate. The county maintains law enforcement liability coverage through its insurance carrier.
Jackson County Council President Brian Thompson noted that the settlement does not increase taxes.
By August 8, 2021, after 20 days of confinement, McLemore had lost almost 45 pounds and was severely emaciated. On that day, the jail staff called an ambulance. McLemore died two days later of multiple organ failure at Mercy West Hospital on August 10, 2021. He died weighing about 153 pounds.
According to the lawsuit, his condition “deteriorated in plain view of jail officials and security cameras,” and jailers were “deliberately indifferent” to McLemore’s wellbeing, keeping him in solitary confinement 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In April, McLemore’s estate filed a civil lawsuit against Jackson County, jail officials, and the private corporation contracted to provide health care services at the jail. The suit alleged the jail violated McLemore’s civil rights by not monitoring his condition and failing to provide adequate care.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department has taken steps to help ensure detainees with mental health conditions will receive appropriate care early in the process.
“The Sheriff’s Department has added a mental health nurse to the jail staff in an effort to identify those subjects struggling with a serious mental health condition as quickly as possible so that they may receive appropriate care,” added Thompson. The department has also refined the Fit for Confinement policy to evaluate detainees more closely before they are accepted for confinement.”
